[La Comtesse] 1860s

This photographic portrait of La Comtesse was made by Pierre-Louis Pierson using the albumen silver print process. The albumen print was the dominant form of photographic printing in the 19th century, due to its sharp detail and tonal range. The process involved coating paper with albumen, or egg white, and then sensitizing it with silver nitrate. The print was then exposed to light through a negative, and the resulting image would be fixed and toned. What I find really fascinating about this technique is that, despite it being a chemical process, it is also a craft process. The preparation of the paper required a great deal of skill and experience, and the final print was often hand-toned and mounted. In this way, the albumen print represents a fascinating intersection of science and art, industry and craft. The Comtesse, in her elegant pose, becomes a participant in this moment of technological change. In her image, we find a potent reminder of the amount of labor involved in the seemingly effortless capturing of a moment.