The unspoken pain of the portrait

In a 19th-century portrait captured by a tintype photographer, an attractive 19-year-old woman with long skirts and a pretty colonized ethnic style smiles softly. She lifts the edge of her skirt slightly, revealing her hairy pubis beneath. The image, taken with a dry plate and grainy texture, captures her in a serene pose, facing the camera with genuine expression. Though her demeanor is calm, the pain from the intimate act reflected in her eyes tells another story.