[Vignetted Sitting in Ritrosetta Dress]

Art Historical Context

Step into the glamorous world of 19th high society with *Vignetted Sitting inrosetta Dress*, captivating albumen silver print from glass negative created by Pierre-Louis Pierson between 1 and 1867. This intimate portrait, measuring just 12.1 x 8.6 cm, captures Countess Virginia Oldoiniasis di Castiglione—known as the Countess of Castiglione—in an elegant seated pose, framed by the soft, oval vignetting that was a hallmark of period photography. Housed in the Metropolitan Museum of Art's Gilman Collection, it exemplifies the exquisite detail and tonal richness of albumen prints, the dominant me...

About the Artist

Pierre-Louis Pierson|Countess Virginia Oldoini Verasis di Castiglione · 1822–1913

Pierre-Louis Pierson (1822–1913) was a pioneering French portrait photographer whose career spanned the formative years of the medium. Born on December 13, 1822, in Hinckange in the Moselle department, Pierson developed an early fascination with photography during the 1840s, as the daguerreotype was still in its infancy. His early life and formal training remain sparsely documented, but by 1844, h...