Portret van een zittende oude vrouw met pijpenkrullen en muts 1879 - 1900

Friedrich Julius von Kolkow made this portrait of a seated old woman, sometime in the late 19th century. It's a photographic print, likely an albumen silver print, a process that was popular at the time. The image itself is deeply connected to the rise of photography as a democratic medium. The process involved coating a glass plate with light-sensitive chemicals, exposing it in a camera, and then using that negative to print multiple copies on paper. This opened up portraiture to a much wider segment of society, beyond the wealthy elite who could afford to commission painted portraits. The tones and textures we see are a direct result of the chemical processes involved. Note the way the light catches the fabric of her dress and bonnet. Photography democratized images, but also created new forms of labor, from photographers themselves, to workers in factories. Here, photography is a document, but also a marker of broader changes in society and economy.