Portret van vrouw in een jurk, zittend c. 1861 - 1863

This is a portrait of a seated woman in a dress, made by Maurits Verveer, though the precise date is unknown. It's a photograph, a process that depends on both chemistry and optics. The sepia tone tells us that this is likely an albumen print, made by coating paper with egg white and silver salts, then exposing it to light through a negative. It's worth thinking about the sheer amount of labor that went into this. Not just Verveer's skill as a photographer, but the production of the chemicals, the raising of the chickens to get the albumen, and the making of the woman's dress. Look at the details: the buttons, the lace collar, the way the fabric gathers at her waist. All of this speaks to a complex web of production and consumption that underpins the image. It's a reminder that even seemingly simple objects like this one are actually the product of a vast and intricate network of human activity. When we consider the photograph in this way, the distinctions between art and craft begin to blur.