Untitled (Portrait of Three Woman and a Man)
1858
Medium
Daguerreotype
Dimensions
8.2 × 10.7 cm (3 1/4 × 4 1/4 in.); Open case: 12.2 × 19.8 × 1.7 cm (4 13/16 × 7 13/16 × 11/16 in.); Case: 12.2 × 10.5 × 2.1 cm (4 13/16 × 4 3/16 × 7/8 in.); Plate: 8.3 × 10.8 cm (3 1/4 × 4 1/4 in.)
Classification
portrait
Department
Photography and Media
Museum
Art Institute of Chicago
Accession Number
250033
Art Historical Context
Step into the intimate world of 1858 *Untitled (Portrait of Three and a Man)*, a delicate daguerreotype housed in the Art Institute of's Photography and Media Department. This tiny portrait, measuring just 8.2 × 10.7 cm, captures four unidentified individuals in a formal pose typical of the era—likely a family or close group—gazing directly at the camera. Encased in a protective union case (open: 12.2 × 19.8 × 1.7 cm), it exemplifies the fragility and precision of early photography. The daguerreotype process, patented in 1839 by Louis Daguerre, produces a one-of-a-kind, mirror-like image on a...