Les étoiles de jois 1860s

Editor: We're looking at a portrait called "Les étoiles de Joie", taken in the 1860s by Pierre-Louis Pierson, and it's a photograph. There’s something very reserved, almost melancholic about the sitter's expression. What do you see when you look at this work? Curator: Ah, Pierson! I often wonder if he saw himself as a sculptor working with light rather than, say, clay. Consider the soft, almost dreamy quality he achieves. It's as if the woman isn’t standing but emerging, perhaps from memory, perhaps from dream itself! Does that soft focus speak to you? Editor: It does. I’m also wondering about her expression. What was photography like in the 1860s, and what could her expression tell us? Curator: Early photography wasn’t snapshot-quick! Posing for portraits was, quite literally, a stiff undertaking. The lighting must have been tricky! The faintest twitch could turn into a blur, so they're told to be very very still. Perhaps it's the weight of that moment pressing on her that lends that beautiful gravity to her face, eh? Editor: That makes sense. It does make you wonder what was on her mind at that moment. Thanks for sharing that insight. Curator: And thank you for yours! Every gaze upon a work adds another shimmering layer. Never forget that.