Portret van een jonge vrouw met waaier in de hand 1885 - 1900

This photographic portrait of a young woman with a fan was made by Adolphe Zimmermans, though the date of its creation remains unknown. The albumen print, a popular process in the late 19th century, starts with paper coated with egg white to create a glossy surface, later sensitized with silver nitrate. It was then exposed to light through a negative. This particular photographic technique allowed for mass production, changing the social context in which this portrait was produced, and making it more accessible to a broader public. Consider the sitter’s pose, and her fan, both suggesting a deliberate performance of femininity and social class. The small format hints at a desire for personal keepsakes, tied to emerging middle class desires. The materiality of the photograph – its paper, the chemical processes – is inextricably linked to its social and cultural significance. It reminds us that technological developments changed artistic expression, and offered new forms of communication and commemoration.