Portret van een jonge vrouw 1883 - 1910

This small photograph, a "Portret van een jonge vrouw," was made by Johannes Laurens Theodorus Huijsen, likely in the late 19th century. It's an albumen print, a process involving coating paper with egg white and silver nitrate, then exposing it to light through a negative. The resulting sepia tones and delicate details were fashionable for cartes de visite, popular calling cards that also served as keepsakes. This was a new technology that made portraiture more accessible, moving it away from the realm of painting, reserved for the upper classes. Consider the labor involved: from preparing the chemicals to posing the sitter, each step required careful attention. Photography like this democratized image-making, creating new industries and forms of documentation. It also shaped social dynamics, connecting people through mass-produced, portable likenesses. It’s a striking example of how technological innovation transformed both art and society.