Virginie
1860s
Medium
Salted paper print from glass negative with applied color
Dimensions
8.7 x 13.6 cm (3 7/16 x 5 3/8 in.)
Classification
Photographs
Department
Photographs
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
David Hunter McAlpin Fund, 1975
Accession Number
1975.548.120
Tags
Art Historical Context
**Virginie** (1860s) by Pierre-Louis Pierson offers an intimate glimpse into mid-19th-century photography capturing a woman in serene slumber. This petite salted paper print, measuring just 8.7 x 13.6 cm, evokes quiet vulnerability and beauty, aligning with the era's fascination with female portraiture. Pierson, a prominent French photographer active in Paris during the Second Empire, in such evocative images, often blending technical precision with emotional depth. The medium—a salted paper print made from a glass negative, enhanced with delicately applied color—highlights innovative techniq...
About the Artist
Pierre-Louis Pierson · 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...