ida, slave to love

c. 1891. Ernesto A. Gahulardi.

This photograph was a commissioned personal portrait. We know from the journals of Ernesto A. Gahulardi that he was particularly nervous about this composition because Ida the Spider had written him a six page letter requesting and describing in exacting details how her portrait was to be composed including the title.

Although no letters or further notes have survived, this portrait is probably the most insightful look into the personality of the enigmatic Ida the Spider or at least how she thought of herself.