Young Alsacienne Woman (c. 1871): Art, History and Details

Young Alsacienne Woman (c. 1871) is in the Cleveland Museum of Art collection. The museum's creator attribution is Adolphe Braun (French, 1812–1877).

The work and its context

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

At the end of the Franco-Prussian War, Prussia seized much of the regions of Alsace and Lorraine. That inspired Adolphe Braun to produce a series of images of women meant to personify those lost territories. The images proved so popular that they were reproduced on souvenir items including postcards and ceramic plates.

Object facts

• Title: Young Alsacienne Woman
• Date: c. 1871
• Creator attribution: Adolphe Braun (French, 1812–1877)
• Culture: France
• Type: Photograph
• Technique: carbon print on a ruled mount
• Dimensions: Image: 40 x 30.5 cm (15 3/4 x 12 in.)
• Collection: PH - French 19th Century
• Department: Photography
• Accession number: 2021.57

A detail from the museum

This woman wears a regional folk costume from the French region of Alsace, recalling traditions that were disappearing under the impact of industrialization and modernization.

Collection credit

Gift of Michael Mattis and Judith Hochberg

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.