Portret van een onbekende staande vrouw 1873 - 1917

Maria Tesch produced this portrait of an unknown woman using the carte-de-visite format that was popular in Sweden and Europe from the 1860s onwards. Its small size and affordability made it a widely accessible means of image production and circulation. This format democratized portraiture, making it available to the middle classes, where previously it had been a preserve of the aristocracy. Photographic studios boomed and the carte-de-visite became a collectable item that was shared among friends and family. Albums became a common feature in middle-class homes. Here, the sitter’s dress and jewelry suggest that she is middle-class, quietly confident, but not excessively wealthy or fashionable. But what did it mean for women to become practitioners? Further research into the archives of the Swedish photographic society and the histories of women’s education may reveal more about Tesch’s own position as a female photographer.