Wife
1862
From the collection of Cleveland Museum of Art
1862
From the collection of Cleveland Museum of Art
Wife is a 1862 by Unknown, a Impressionism work, held at Cleveland Museum of Art.
This is a small, stiff portrait of a woman in a dark dress, her hands clasped so tightly her knuckles turn white. Her face is frozen in a grim, forced smile. Most mid-1800s portraits look serious—long camera exposures meant people had to stay still for minutes. Smiling was nearly impossible. This woman’s awkward grin shows just how hard it was to follow the photographer’s rules. To see more portraits from the same time, look up the subject america.
You rarely see a smiling portrait from the mid-19th century. Having your photograph taken was a serious and rare endeavor, plus it was difficult to hold any animated expression long enough for the exposure times required by the early processes. Sitters were instructed to find ways to keep from moving, such as clasping their hands. The woman here has taken the photographers’ cautions to an extreme, resulting in a tense and unflattering portrait.
In the early decades of photography, many people did not know how to pose for the camera.
Read the full account in the museum source.
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