Child Standing on a Chair Holding Flowers, with Mother

c. 1855

France, 19th century

Medium

Measurements

Image: 9.2 x 7.1 cm (3 5/8 x 2 13/16 in.); Framed: 15.4 x 12.7 cm (6 1/16 x 5 in.); Matted: 45.7 x 35.6 cm (18 x 14 in.)

Credit Line

John L. Severance Fund 1999.23

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Location

230 Photography

Did You Know?

Images of children were especially treasured in 1850s France, when one in four children died before reaching their fifth birthday.

Description

Until the mid-1850s the daguerreotype process was the method preferred by the commercial photographers willing to meet the ever-growing demand for likenesses of family and friends. This daguerreotype captures the patience of a mother and child, who were required to hold their poses for some time during the exposure of the silver-coated copper plate. Only the bouquet of flowers held by the child is slightly blurred. Characteristic of the technique, the details in the image—fabric, facial features, and accessories—are clearly defined.