Portret van een onbekende vrouw met een luit before 1878

This is a woodburytype print of an unknown woman with a lute, created by Gösta Florman in the 19th century. The photograph's composition is dominated by the sitter's form, positioned in a way that emphasizes her ornate attire and the instrument she holds. The contrast between the dark, detailed textures of her garments and the softer, out-of-focus background draws our eyes to the performative aspect of her presentation. Her gaze, directed away from the viewer, suggests a narrative beyond the immediate visual field. Here, the subject's elaborate costume and the lute act as signs, evoking notions of artistry and possibly a constructed identity. This challenges the conventional portrait by inviting interpretation of the sitter as a figure enmeshed in a complex play of symbols and cultural references. The print's materiality, its tonal range and texture, serves not just to depict but to actively construct a particular image of femininity and artistic identity within the cultural discourse of the time.