Portret van een jonge vrouw 1855 - 1884

This is Cornelius Jabez Hughes’s diminutive portrait of a young woman. The sepia tones and the rigid pose give the image a quiet intensity, contrasting with the decorative frame surrounding it. Hughes uses a classical composition, dividing the image into distinct vertical planes, a curtained backdrop, the woman, and the chair. The woman’s dark coat sharply bisects the picture, drawing our eye to the contrast with her light dress and the pale tones of her face. The composition employs a formal structure that’s common to portraiture of the era. Yet, the somewhat uneven lighting and the direct, unidealized gaze of the subject subtly undermine any conventional reading. The chair acts almost as a structural anchor, while the small hat she holds introduces a delicate curve, softening the otherwise angular lines. The formal construction of this photograph both adheres to and subtly questions the visual codes of its time, inviting us to consider the individual within the structured confines of Victorian society.