La capuche

Art Historical Context

**La Capuche** is a charming 1860s albumen silver by Pierre-Louis Pierson, a French photographer of the Second Empire era. Captured from a glass negative, this intimate portrait measures just 9.8 x 12.7 cm, typical of the carte-de-vis format that revolutionized personal photography. Pierson, who ran the prestigious Mayer & Pierson studio Paris, excelled in elegant portraits of the elite, often highlighting fashion and poise against painted backdrops. The albumen process, using egg whites to coat paper for a glossy sheen, produced richly toned images with remarkable detail—perfect for this close-up of a young girl in a hooded garment ("la capuche" means "the hood"). In the 1860s, such photographs were collectible calling cards, exchanged among the bourgeoisie and aristocracy, blending art with social currency. This work exemplifies mid-19th-century photography's shift from novelty to portraiture staple, preserving fleeting moments of childhood innocence amid France's opulent Haussmann-era culture. Now in the Metropolitan Museum of Art's Photographs Department, thanks to the David Hunter McAlpin Fund (1975), it invites us to ponder the era's blend of whimsy and refinement.

About the Artist

Pierre-Louis Pierson · 1822–1913

Pierre-Louis Pierson (1822–1913) was a pioneering French portrait photographer whose career spanned the formative years of the medium. Born on December 13, 1822, in Hinckange in the Moselle department, Pierson developed an early fascination with photography during the 1840s, as the daguerreotype was still in its infancy. His early life and formal training remain sparsely documented, but by 1844, h...