Filles de Shanghai
1870s
Medium
Albumen silver print from glass negative with applied color
Dimensions
23.8 x 19.3 cm (9 3/8 x 7 5/8 in.)
Classification
Photographs
Department
Photographs
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
Gilman Collection, Museum Purchase, 2005
Accession Number
2005.100.505.1 (34a)
Tags
Art Historical Context
**Filles de Shanghai**, captivating albumen silver print from a glass, dates to the 1870s and captures the poised elegance of young women in Shanghai. Measuring 23.8 x 19.3 cm, this from the Metropolitan Museum of Art Gilman Collection features delicate hand-applied color, its lifelike quality and transforming the image into a vibrant tableau. Produced by an unknown artist, it exemplifies mid-19th-century photographic techniques, where albumen—derived from egg whites—provided a glossy surface ideal for sharp details from glass-plate negatives. In the 1870s, Shanghai was a bustling treaty port...
About the Artist
Unknown
The artist designated as "Unknown" in our virtual museum's collection exemplifies a poignant chapter in art history: creators whose identities have faded into obscurity despite the enduring power of their work. With only one known artwork attributed to them in our holdings, this figure represents countless anonymous hands that shaped visual culture across centuries. Museums worldwide, including th...