Jewish Woman in Algeria (c. 1875): Art, History and Details

Jewish Woman in Algeria (c. 1875) is in the Cleveland Museum of Art collection. The museum's creator attribution is Jean Geiser (Swiss, 1848–1923, active in Algeria).

The work and its context

The museum's open-access catalogue describes the work:

It is possible that this photograph was intended as an ethnographic study, but it conveys the sitter’s individuality, beauty, and dignity in a way that we associate with portraits. Muslim Arabs and Berbers, who comprised the majority of people living in Algeria, would most likely not have let their women be photographed without a veil covering the face.

Object facts

• Title: Jewish Woman in Algeria
• Date: c. 1875
• Creator attribution: Jean Geiser (Swiss, 1848–1923, active in Algeria)
• Culture: Switzerland
• Type: Photograph
• Technique: albumen print from glass negative
• Dimensions: Image: 20.3 x 15.7 cm (8 x 6 3/16 in.); Mounted: 44.7 x 30.6 cm (17 5/8 x 12 1/16 in.)
• Collection: PH - Misc. 19th Century
• Department: Photography
• Accession number: 2024.7

A detail from the museum

This woman’s dress, its decoration, and her jewelry help identify her as a Jewish woman in Algeria.

Collection credit

Jo Hershey Selden Fund

View the collection record

See the museum's photographs and full catalogue entry. Catalogue text is reproduced from the Cleveland Museum of Art's open-access data, with HTML formatting removed. This object and its supplied image are designated CC0.