Untitled (Portrait of a Boy)
1850
Medium
Daguerreotype
Dimensions
8.2 × 7 cm (3 1/4 × 2 13/16 in.); Open case: 9.2 × 16 × 0.9 cm (3 5/8 × 6 5/16 × 3/8 in.); Case: 9.2 × 8 × 1.5 cm (3 5/8 × 3 3/16 × 5/8 in.); Plate: 8.3 × 7 cm (3 1/4 × 2 3/4 in.)
Classification
portrait
Department
Photography and Media
Museum
Art Institute of Chicago
Accession Number
250032
Art Historical Context
This poignant *Untitled (Portrait of a Boy, created around 1850 by an unknown maker, captures the dawn of photography through the daguerreotype process—one of the earliest and most revolutionary image-making techniques. Invented by Louis Daguerre 1839, daguerreotypes produced exquisitely detailed, one-of-a-kind positives on silvered copper plates, requiring long exposure times that demanded subjects remain perfectly still. Housed in a protective case measuring just 9.2 × 8 × 1.5 cm, this tiny portrait (plate: 8.3 × 7 cm) exemplifies the intimate scale of early photographs, often treasured as p...