[Countess de Castiglione, from Série des Roses] 1895

This is a photograph of the Countess de Castiglione, made by Pierre-Louis Pierson sometime in the late 19th century. Photography, even at this relatively early stage, was already deeply implicated in the machinations of modern life. The Countess's striking appearance—her elaborate floral headpiece, gown, jewelry, and even the painted fan—speak volumes about the industries that supported such displays of wealth. Textiles, jewelry, cosmetics, photography itself: all were part of a complex, rapidly expanding web of production and consumption. Consider the labor involved in producing and processing the materials for her clothing, the extraction of precious metals for her jewelry, the manufacturing of photographic equipment and chemicals. This image, in its material form as a photograph, and in its subject, is a portrait of capitalism itself. It invites us to consider not just the image, but the immense social and economic networks that made its creation possible.