Portret van een vrouw met bril 1884 - 1900

This is a portrait of a woman with glasses, made by Adolphe Zimmermans, probably at the end of the 19th century. It's a photograph, and it’s worth thinking about what that means, materially. Photography was a relatively new technology at the time, rapidly becoming industrialized. The camera was a machine, and the photographic print another kind of manufactured object. Its smooth surface and reproducible nature stood in stark contrast to the hand-rendered qualities of painting or sculpture. But that's precisely the point. Photography democratized portraiture. Suddenly, it was possible for ordinary people to have their likeness captured, a privilege that had previously been reserved for the wealthy elite. So, when we look at this photograph, we're not just seeing an image of a woman. We're also seeing the result of industrial processes, and a shift in social power. The photograph is both a document and a product, a testament to the changing landscape of art and society. It is a reminder that every object, no matter how small, has a story to tell about the world in which it was made.