L'hermine 1860s

This is a photograph called 'L'hermine' by Pierre-Louis Pierson. We don't know the precise date, but it's a work that engages directly with the social theater of its time. The albumen print gives a sepia tint, which mutes the ostentatious display of wealth we see in the image. The fur trim, the woman's jewelry and elaborate dress—all these would have demanded considerable labor, both in the extraction of raw materials and in their fashioning into luxury goods. Photography was a relatively new technology at the time, and Pierson's skill in manipulating light and shadow, along with the sitter's carefully curated appearance, speak volumes about the performative nature of identity. The image is less about capturing a "real" moment, and more about constructing an ideal. Seen in this light, photography becomes another mode of production, not unlike the textile industry, or jewelry-making, complicit in the creation and maintenance of social hierarchies.