Young Girl 

Robert Demachy created this photograph, "Young Girl," using the gum bichromate process. This involves coating paper with a mixture of pigment, gum arabic, and potassium dichromate, then exposing it to light through a negative. Demachy, an upper-class banker, embraced photography as a fine art, manipulating the prints with brushes and other tools to achieve painterly effects. The gum bichromate process allowed him to control the tonality and texture, blurring the lines between photography and drawing. Notice how the soft, diffused light and grainy texture create an ethereal and dreamlike quality. This approach countered the prevailing view of photography as a purely mechanical process. Demachy's labor-intensive method elevated photography to the realm of art, challenging the hierarchy that placed painting above other visual media. The final image is a testament to the artist's hand and vision, rather than simply a record of reality. Ultimately, understanding the material and the making helps us appreciate the full meaning of this beautiful image.