Fotoreproductie van Winter 1870 - 1890

This reproduction of 'Winter' was created anonymously using photography, a relatively new technology at the time. Photography's rise was deeply entwined with burgeoning industrialization, offering a novel means of mass-producing images. The photograph collapses the traditional artistic hierarchy, as photography was a medium available to the masses. The sitter is adorned in a fur stole, and alongside a carnival mask. These symbols speak to the social context of the time, where winter was often associated with luxury and the upper classes who could afford to stay warm and engage in leisurely activities. The amount of work involved in this production process involves access to the equipment required to create and reproduce photographs and is thus tied to social issues of labor and class. It is the very material of the photograph that conveys this information about the intersection of art, society, and the means of production. This challenges distinctions between fine art and craft.