Portret van een onbekende vrouw before 1900

This photogravure is an image of an unknown woman by Constant Puyo. Puyo was a French Pictorialist photographer, who advocated for photography as a fine art. During the late 19th century, the rise of artistic photography provided women new opportunities for creative expression. While the image itself seems conventional at first glance, the woman's gaze, directed assertively at the viewer, challenges the traditional representation of women as passive subjects. Her expression is ambiguous, but her agency over the scene is palpable. The image is a complex exploration of femininity, class, and representation during a time of social change. Puyo's artistic choices reflect both an adherence to traditional artistic values and an impulse to redefine the medium. In the end, we're left wondering how we shape our own identities, and how society shapes us in return.