Joseph Nicéphore Niépce
Cardinal d'Amboise

CultureFrench
Titles
  • Cardinal d'Amboise
Date1826, printed 1870
MediumPhotogravure
DimensionsImage/Plate: 7 × 5 1/2 in. (17.8 × 14 cm)
Sheet: 13 3/8 × 10 3/8 in. (34 × 26.4 cm)
Credit LineGift of Michael S. Sachs
Object number2022.643
Non exposé

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Department
Photography
Object Type
Description


Nicéphore Niépce’s photogravure copy of an engraving by Isaac Briot is a key milestone in the invention of photography and of photomechanical reproduction. It dates to 1826—a dozen years before the world at large learned of the existence of photography. By using a varnished (transparent) copy of Briot’s engraving as a negative and a light-sensitive etching asphaltum called bitumen of Judea, Niépce was able to transform a sheet of pewter into an etching plate that could be inked and printed to yield a rough reproduction of the original engraving.



ProvenanceMichael S. Sachs; given to MFAH, 2022.
Inscriptions, Signatures and Marks
Inscription below image: PREMIER RÉSULTAT HÉLIOGRAPHIQUE Obtenu en 1824, Par J. NICÉPHORE NIEPCE. Libéralement offert à Mr. BLANQUART-EVRARD pour sa publication, par Mr. JULES CHEVRIER de Châlons-S-Saône, Propriétaire de la planche originale. Tiré en 1870 par M.M. CADART & LUCE, Rue Neuve des Mathurins, 58. PARIS.

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