Portret van een onbekende vrouw 1831 - 1890

This portrait of an unknown woman was made by Jean Baptiste Pierre Michiels using a technique called lithography. This is a printmaking process that relies on the careful manipulation of grease and water. The image begins as a drawing on a flat stone or metal plate with a greasy crayon, after which the surface is treated so that ink only adheres to the drawn areas. The resulting print has a distinctive soft, almost velvety quality, which you can see clearly in the delicate shading of the woman’s face and clothing. Lithography was a relatively new technology in the 19th century, allowing for the mass production of images, and for a democratization of portraiture. Instead of commissioning an expensive painting, a likeness like this could be made relatively quickly and cheaply, making it accessible to a wider range of people. While we don’t know the sitter's name, this portrait reflects a shift in social values, and the growing importance of the individual.