Artist/photographer: Étienne Carjat (1828 - 1906) was a French journalist, caricaturist, and photographer.
Title: Photo portrait of Rossini, a nineteenth-century Italian composer.
Dimensions: Photo 9 3/8" x 7 6/8". Sheet 14" x 10 2/8"
Published: Galerie Contemporaine Litteraire, Artistique. Vol.3. Paris, Goupil & Cie, 1876.
Date: Circa 1862 (The Metropolitan Museum of Art.).
Material and Techniques: Woodburytype. Mounted on the typography mat board.
Condition: Minor cutting in corners, scratches according to age.
Museums: The Metropolitan Museum of Art. Accession Number: 1992.5148.56.
National Gallery of Art. Étienne Carjat. Biography: "Rather than posed with pillars and swags of drapery, Carjat's subjects were shown against plain backdrops to heighten the effect of gesture and expression, elements frequently lost amid the overstuffed and visually aggressive props of most portraits of the day. The same severity of setting and lighting was applied to an even greater effect in Carjat's larger-format pictures. In the best portraits, for example, those of Charles Baudelaire and Gioacchino Rossini, the dramatic posture and expression alone convey the portraitist's interpretation. Indeed, Carjat's flair for capturing the spirit of his celebrity subjects frequently equaled or excelled that of his better known contemporary, Nadar, who depended heavily on dramatic side lighting for his effects. The two men are generally regarded as the masters of portrait photography in Europe in the third quarter of the 19th century."