Portret van een onbekende vrouw before 1901

This portrait of an unknown woman is by Frederick Colburn Clarke. It’s printed on a page of a book or journal, a mass-produced object of paper and ink. The image attempts to mimic the effects of fine art through photography, a relatively new medium in the late 19th and early 20th century. Look at the woman’s soft focus and muted tones, trying to capture the qualities of a charcoal sketch or painting. The text surrounding it speaks of photography as an exciting new art form capable of great expressivity, as 'a new power of artistic expression'. The photograph raises questions about labor, skill, and artistic value. The photographer must use technical skill and artistry, but the final product is reproducible and widely accessible, a challenge to the traditional art world. The rise of photography challenged older hierarchies between art and industry. Ultimately, it democratized portraiture, making it available to a broader public and forever changing the landscape of visual representation.