Untitled (Portrait of a Girl)
1855
Medium
Daguerreotype
Dimensions
8.2 × 7 cm (3 1/4 × 2 13/16 in.); Open case: 9.2 × 16 × 1 cm (3 5/8 × 6 5/16 × 7/16 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
250037
Art Historical Context
This delicate *Untitled (Portrait of a Girl, created in 1855 by an unknown maker, captures the innocence of youth through the lens of early photography. Measuring just 8.2 × 7 cm, the daguerreotype—a one-of-a-kind positive image on a silvered copper plate—presents a mirror-like reflection of its young subject, likely seated or posed with quiet poise. Housed in a protective case that opens to 9.2 × 16 × 1 cm, it evokes the era's tradition of treating photographs like precious jewels, often carried in pockets or displayed on parlour tables. As one of the first viable photographic processes, inv...