Portret van Jacqueline Ricket 1883 - 1884

This is Friedrich Carel Hisgen's photograph of Jacqueline Ricket. Though taken with a camera, photography relies on a specific kind of making. It is a mechanized chemical process with its own distinct materiality, and this photograph bears the hallmark of early photographic practices. If you look closely, you can see the texture of the paper on which the image is printed. It has a matte finish, a stark contrast to the glossy prints we are used to seeing today. The limited tonal range from stark white to charcoal grey lends a certain starkness to the portrait. This portrait wasn’t commissioned as an artwork in the traditional sense. It was part of a broader project of documentation and cataloging. In this way, the photograph intersects with social issues of labor, politics, and consumption. The image becomes a tool for understanding and controlling populations. Understanding the materials, making, and context of this portrait, and the ways that the photograph has been used, allows us to challenge traditional distinctions between fine art and craft.