Untitled (Portrait of a Woman)
1842
Medium
Daguerreotype
Dimensions
5.9 × 5.3 cm (2 3/8 × 2 1/8 in., each plate); 14 × 6.3 × 1.2 cm (each open case); 7 × 6.3 × 1.3 (each case)
Classification
portrait
Department
Photography and Media
Museum
Art Institute of Chicago
Accession Number
249911
Art Historical Context
Step into the dawn of photography with *Untitled (Portrait of a)*, a delicate daguerreotype created in 1842 by an unknown maker. Measuring just 5.9 × 5.3 cm on its polished silver-plated copper surface, this tiny portrait captures an unidentified woman in exquisite detail, housed in a protective case typical of the era. As one of the earliest photographic processes, invented by Louis Daguerre in 1839, the daguerreotype produces a one-of-a-kind, mirror-like positive image that shimmers when tilted—revealing the sitter's features in a ghostly, almost ethereal glow. This artwork, held in the Art...