Portret van een jonge vrouw 1888 - 1889

This is a portrait of a young woman by Georg Ferner, and while the date of its making is unknown, we can guess that it was made with photographic means. The photograph is sepia-toned, lending a nostalgic feel, and is mounted on card, embellished with hand-painted details. The artist has added sprigs of flowers, giving the impression of a springtime scene. The oval format and golden rim suggest jewelry, a locket perhaps. In the nineteenth century, photography democratized portraiture, making it available to a wider range of social classes. Before this, only the wealthy could afford to have their likeness captured in paint. The very act of posing for the camera suggests a certain level of economic stability. This delicate portrait invites us to consider the interplay between photography as a rapidly developing technology and painting as a traditional art form. The combination of mechanical and manual processes speaks to a transitional moment in the history of representation, and it's a reminder that the meaning of an image is always bound up with its making.