Lady of the Alps
SOLD May 2002 |
European sixth plate tinted daguerreotype ca. 1850 showing a woman posed in front of a snow-covered mountain backdrop. Housed in original passe-partout mount with modern backing.
A very finely hand-colored image on a par with the best tinted stereo images. Mountains are green, the sky seems to be blue (with painted clouds), there is two-tone flesh coloring, gilt, and unbelievably fine dabs of a thick blue paint on the netting in her hair. Beyond the issue of this technical prowess is the mountain backdrop, which I've never seen before and is certainly uncommon. While it probably reflects the region where the daguerreotype was produced, this could be any one of the mountainous areas in Europe.
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