La Simple
1860s
Medium
Albumen silver print from glass negative
Dimensions
5.1 x 8.9 cm. (2 x 3 1/2 in.)
Classification
Photographs
Department
Photographs
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
David Hunter McAlpin Fund, 1975
Accession Number
1975.548.2
Tags
Art Historical Context
**La Simple**, a delicate albumen silver print from the1860s by the photography team Duroni et Murer captures the quiet elegance of an everyday woman in this intimate portrait. Measuring just 5.1 x 8.9 cm—typical of the carte de visite format—this tiny photograph exemplifies the mid-19th-century revolution in portraiture. No longer reserved for the elite, photography's affordability allowed ordinary people to preserve their likenesses, fostering a craze for these pocket-sized images exchanged like calling cards across Europe and beyond. The albumen process, using egg whites to coat paper for ...