Artist
Étienne Carjat(French, 1828–1906)French, 1828–1906
Printer
Cautin & Berger(French, active early 1900s)French, active early 1900s
CultureFrench
Titles
- Charles Baudelaire
Date1866, printed 1906
MediumGelatin silver print
DimensionsImage: 9 11/16 × 7 7/16 in. (24.6 × 18.9 cm)
Sheet: 14 1/8 × 10 1/2 in. (35.9 × 26.7 cm)
Sheet: 14 1/8 × 10 1/2 in. (35.9 × 26.7 cm)
Credit LineMuseum purchase funded by the Buddy Taub Foundation, Dennis A. Roach and Jill Roach, Directors
Object number2016.335
Current Location
The Nancy and Rich Kinder Building
Gallery 208
Exposé
Explore Further
Department
PhotographyObject Type
Étienne Carjat photographed Charles Baudelaire, one of the creative geniuses of the 19th century, twice in the 1860s. His early, widely distributed image of a fortysomething poet with an intense stare conveys a burning creative energy. The second, much rarer photograph is a sad, moving portrait made a few months before the poet died, when he was already under the care of a doctor, in the hospital, and no longer able to speak. Nadar visited Baudelaire each week for silent walks together, and it is likely that Nadar escorted him to Carjat’s home for one final portrait sitting.
ProvenanceCautin et Berger; Féli Gautier, Paris, 1906; given to Henri Saffrey, Paris, December 19, 1913; Darzens Collection; André Jammes, Paris; [Binoche et Giquello, Paris, November 10, 2016, lot 120]; purchased by MFAH, 2016.
Inscriptions, Signatures and Marks
Embossed, recto, bottom edge of mount: CAUTIN // & BERGER // MEDAILLE D’OR // PARIS 1900 // HÔTEL PRIVE // 62, Rue de Caumartin. // PARIS.
Inscribed in graphite, verso, top center of mount: Feli Gautier fl. apres lap. 32.
Inscribed in graphite, verso, bottom left of mount: diapositive
Inscribed in graphite, verso, top center of mount: Feli Gautier fl. apres lap. 32.
Inscribed in graphite, verso, bottom left of mount: diapositive
Cataloguing data may change with further research.
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Nadar (Gaspard Félix Tournachon)
1854–1855
Salted paper prints from glass negatives
2023.299.1-.11