Portret van een onbekende vrouw c. 1880 - 1884

This photographic portrait of an unknown woman was made by Wegner & Mottu. It's a small image, likely a carte-de-visite, a popular format in the mid-19th century. The process involved coating a glass plate with light-sensitive chemicals, exposing it in a camera, and then using that negative to make prints on paper. The tonal range is limited, and the image grainy, due to the constraints of early photographic technology. It may seem far removed from today’s digital photography, but the basic principle is the same: capturing light to create an image. The resulting photograph is not just a record, it’s also a product of labor. From the preparation of the chemicals, to the operation of the camera, to the printing and mounting of the final image, many hands and materials were involved. Even the subject of the portrait, the unknown woman, performed a kind of labor by sitting still and posing for the camera. This collaborative act underscores how photography, even in its early days, was a complex social and economic phenomenon, deeply entwined with the rise of industrial capitalism.