Portret van een kruidenierster met een mand op haar hoofd before 1886

José Augusto da Cunha Moraes created this print of a grocer with a basket on her head sometime between 1870 and 1930. The printmaking process, here, shows more than just an image; it is a sign of industry and economy. The photograph captures the woman's labor, while the printmaking embodies a capitalist structure. The material itself, paper, suggests mass production, and the printmaking process allowed for the dissemination of this image. Consider the social context: who would have been able to afford this print? By focusing on the material and process behind this artwork, we see how it reflects the modes of production of the time and reminds us that the value of art is not solely aesthetic, but tied to wider social and economic structures.