[Leaf] 1837 - 1841

This photogenic drawing of a leaf was made by William Henry Fox Talbot using paper, silver nitrate, and sunlight. Talbot was one of photography’s great pioneers, and what you see here is a direct record of the world achieved through chemistry. The process involves coating paper with silver nitrate, then placing the object on the prepared surface and exposing it to light. The parts of the paper not covered by the leaf darken, leaving a negative image. Talbot then created a positive image by repeating the process using the negative. The final work has a crisp, ethereal quality. The fine veins are captured with remarkable precision. In Talbot’s time, photography was seen as a scientific tool, a way to capture empirical data. But looking at this image today, we can see its inherent beauty and consider the labor it involves. From the growing of the leaf itself to the careful chemical procedure, materials, making, and context are essential to understanding this artwork.