Portret van een onbekende vrouw die omhoog kijkt c. 1890 - 1900

Editor: Here we have a page spread from a photography catalogue by C. Klary, dating from around 1890 to 1900, featuring graphic art prints, photography and text to advertise a new electric lighting system and a 'ball nozzle' water brush, amongst other things. What stands out to me is how much text there is on each page – it's like advertising and fine art all mixed together. What do you see in this work? Curator: It’s interesting to see this kind of marketing aestheticized, especially considering how it blurs the lines between art, commerce and gender roles. These advertisements subtly cater to the burgeoning market of female photographers. We see that particularly in the advert for portraiture under electric lighting. This appealed to upper-middle-class women, providing them an opportunity for self-expression but also for entering into the paid economy. It's selling both freedom, and perhaps exploitation, too. Does the advert seem liberating or restrictive to you? Editor: I guess both. There's the idea of progress and accessibility with 'new electric light', but maybe only for some? Were the new photography tools accessible across all social classes, or were these new technologies mostly aimed at affluent women? Curator: Precisely! While seemingly democratizing, early photography technologies often reinforced existing social hierarchies, even as they subtly empowered certain women. These items likely carried hefty price tags, further widening the chasm between economic groups. So how do we read this tension, do you think? Editor: Maybe by seeing these images not just as adverts, but as records of societal ambitions and constraints at the time? I hadn't really considered the class issues that would've affected something like this, but of course, access to photographic tools would have depended on your socioeconomic position at the time. Thanks, that gives me a lot to think about!