The mid-nineteenth century saw the simultaneous birth of couture, photography, and modern art. For women of the aristocracy, as well as the aspiring bourgeoisie, the three arts provided a new world of spectatorship and self-satisfaction. Virginia Oldoini, Countess Castiglione, was a voracious client of both couture and photography, acquiring fashion from the new maisons de couture of Worth and Pingat. The altered image further suggests the client's intervention.

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