Portret van een meisje 1857 - 1898

This is a photograph of a girl by Pieter Siewers. Though we don’t know the exact date, it was likely made in the latter half of the 19th century. Photographs like this were made using a wet collodion process, and this one is presented as a carte-de-visite, a calling card. The technology depended on the light sensitivity of silver salts, manipulated on a glass plate and then printed on paper. Think for a moment about the labor involved in this image: the mining and refining of silver, the glassmaking, the chemistry – and, of course, the photographer's expertise in coaxing a good likeness from the sitter. This all speaks to the rising industrialization of the period, and the increasing mechanization of portraiture. This photograph, like so many others, invites us to consider the complex relationship between art, technology, and the social context in which they are created. It challenges us to expand our understanding of art history, encompassing not only artistic skill but also the wider economic and social forces at play.