Portret van een vrouw met cornetmuts 1855 - 1880

Lorjé en Co. made this photographic portrait of a woman with a cornet hat using the wet collodion process, a popular technique in the 19th century. Think of it: a glass plate meticulously coated with chemicals, exposed in the camera while still wet, then developed immediately. This demanded skill and speed, making photography a specialized trade. The result, like this portrait, captures incredible detail, from the delicate lace of her cap to the somber fabric of her dress. The tonal range in the photograph, a narrow sepia, speaks to the material’s inherent qualities, and the subject’s stillness reflects the long exposure time. This was a commercial process, producing images for a growing middle class eager to document their lives. But it also involved a lot of labor. Photography blurred the lines between art and industry, bringing new forms of representation to a wider audience, and forever changing how we see ourselves and society.