Constance Queniaux 1860

Curator: Immediately I am struck by the rather static quality. While romanticism pervades this portraiture style, there is very little visible emotion. Editor: This is "Constance Queniaux," an albumen print from 1860 by André-Adolphe-Eugène Disdéri, now held at The Metropolitan Museum of Art. It seems to me to be capturing a shift in how we documented identity through technological advancement. Curator: Albumen print lends an aura of permanence but what about the symbolism? Note the props – the column, the draped fabric, even the dress she wears – it all whispers of a constructed identity. She embodies archetypes associated with women of that era. Editor: Precisely. But who gets to construct it? We’re seeing, during this moment in photographic history, a deliberate staging. This feels like a carefully curated presentation, reflecting the limited roles afforded to women. We’re dealing with performance. The slight variations across these frames reveal performance rather than reality. Curator: The sepia tones definitely contribute to its air of romantic longing, don’t you think? It feels as though the photo tries to transport us back to another world. Almost as if Disderi sought to encapsulate ideals. Editor: It’s certainly interesting to look at those aspirations, and to think about who was afforded them and who wasn’t. Access to photography and studio portraiture remained economically stratified, didn't it? These multiple exposures hint at that idea that selfhood is performative but there’s not enough play! Curator: Absolutely, and those constraints actually reveal an intriguing sense of vulnerability. I was trapped in that artifice. Editor: Well said. Looking at it this way prompts a deeper discussion on visual representation, and social change in those moments captured by early photographic works. Curator: An intersection that I am definitely fascinated with. Editor: Agreed. There's a continuous link to the present that must be noted when dealing with visual narratives!