Vrouwenbuste uit was

Charles Marville made this photograph of a wax bust sometime in the mid-19th century. Wax is a particularly interesting material to consider. It has a naturalism that other sculptural materials like stone or bronze can only imitate. In this case, wax is used to represent a woman in a style reminiscent of Raphael. The bust’s surface is smooth, its form idealized. Wax allowed for the detailed capture of the woman’s features. But wax also has limitations. It's fragile and prone to melting, so a wax sculpture can never achieve the same permanence as other kinds of sculpture. Marville captured the bust with the relatively new technology of photography, which shares wax’s capacity for mimesis, and its vulnerability. Together, photography and wax offered a powerful means of capturing likeness. The photograph survives, offering lasting presence to both the woman, and the material.