[Countess de Castiglione, from Série des Roses] 1895

This photograph of the Countess de Castiglione was created by Pierre-Louis Pierson, using the wet collodion process. This photographic technique, popular in the mid-19th century, involved coating a glass plate with a mixture of chemicals, exposing it in the camera while still wet, and then developing it immediately. This labor-intensive process required skill and speed. The resulting glass negative would then be used to make multiple prints on paper, much like the one you see here. What is interesting about this image is the way that the Countess, in collaboration with Pierson, controlled the making of the image, and the means of its distribution. In doing so, she blurred the lines between the roles of artist, subject, and celebrity. It really makes you think about the hierarchies we often impose when we look at art.