Twee vrouwen bij een raamkozijn met brief 1855 - 1868

Florent Grau captured this photographic print, ‘Two Women by a Window Frame with Letter.’ This is a stereograph, a popular nineteenth-century format designed to create a three-dimensional effect when viewed through a special device. The photographic process involves a series of skillful chemical procedures. Light-sensitive materials were meticulously applied to a glass plate, then exposed in a camera, and developed. This was a labor-intensive process that required expertise, precision, and careful attention to detail. Stereographs were sold and collected widely, offering an accessible form of entertainment and education to a growing middle class. They were a product of both artistic skill and industrial production, capturing a moment in time but also reflecting the social and technological conditions of the era. Looking closely, we can see the relationship between this artwork and the modes of production of the time. The photograph is not only a representation of its subject, but also a tangible link to the world of nineteenth-century photographic practice.