Portret van een vrouw met waaier 1860 - 1890

Editor: So, we have "Portrait of a Woman with Fan" by Campos y Aguilar, a gelatin-silver print estimated to have been made between 1860 and 1890. There’s something quite striking about its…simplicity, almost starkness, in contrast to the elaborate framing. How would you read this piece? Curator: Considering it as a gelatin-silver print redirects us. The labour involved – the photographic process itself, the developing, the printing, all of that material handling. And what about the sitter? We see evidence of careful dressing with perhaps the finery of a purchased fan. What narratives do you see emerging here? Editor: Well, thinking about it that way, the studio visit becomes significant. It wasn't cheap, I assume? Curator: Precisely. It points to a specific socioeconomic status, a claim to middle-class aspiration or achievement, certainly reflected in that embellished garment and her very adornments. Do you think the decorative framing itself has anything to say about value? Editor: I hadn't thought of that, but definitely. It's trying to elevate what's inside...a photograph, which even then might've been viewed as less "artistic" than a painting, right? By mounting it elaborately, you're almost giving it status by association. Curator: Exactly. The image becomes an artifact, signaling consumer habits, technical facility, even the democratization of portraiture that photography afforded. Where does this place photography on the hierarchy between art and industry? Editor: It's a really interesting question that complicates our perception of the photograph. I never considered that labor as being so central to its message. I assumed the *who* and *when* and *where*, not so much *how* and *why*. Curator: The 'how' is central, wouldn't you agree? This makes photography far more revealing.