Portrait of Two Servants: Lisette Gilliard and Susette (Main View)

On the back of this carefully lit and posed daguerreotype, Jean-Gabriel Eynard identified the seated woman as a cook, Lisette Gilliard, whose profession one might guess from her sturdy forearms. Judging by her suntanned face, her standing companion Suzette was probably a poultry keeper. Both women wear plain work clothes: sprig-patterned dresses, long aprons, and lace kerchiefs and collars. Had the sitters commissioned this portrait for themselves, they would undoubtedly have donned more formal apparel.