Portret van een onbekend kind op een stoel op een tafel 1864 - 1873

This photograph of an unknown child was produced by Photographie Artistique using the 19th-century commercial process of albumen print. Albumen printing involved coating paper with a solution of egg white and silver nitrate, then exposing it to sunlight through a negative. The resulting print has a distinctive sepia tone and a smooth, glossy surface, but it was also prone to fading and discoloration. This particular image is small, likely intended for an album or personal collection. The practice of photography in this period was tied to the rise of consumer culture and the desire for personal mementos. The professional photographer, like Photographie Artistique, offered a service, producing images on demand using a complex chemical process. This commercial aspect, however, does not diminish the photograph's value as a historical artifact, a record of a specific time, place, and the people who lived there. Understanding its making reminds us that photographs are not neutral documents, but constructed objects with their own material qualities and social context.