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Portrait of Charles Baudelaire

Photograph
1878 (printed), 1862 (made)
Artist/Maker
Carjat, Etienne (photographer)
Place of origin
paris (made)

This portrait of the writer Charles Baudelaire has controlled much of his posthumous representation both by artists and in the minds of his readers. It records his severe mouth, immoderate brow and the eyes a contemporary described as two drops of coffee. Carjat was a notable caricaturist as well as one of the most sublet portrait photographers of the great period in Paris around 1860. This print was reproduced in a series of photographs of celebrities entitled 'Galerie Contemporaine' (1876-94).


Object details

Categories
Photographs
Portraits
Object type
Photograph
TitlePortrait of Charles Baudelaire (generic title)
Materials and techniques
Carbon print
Paper
Carbon Print
Brief description
Carbon print photograph of Charles Baudelaire, published in 'Galerie Contemporaine' in 1878. France, c.1862.
Physical description
Portrait of Charles Baudelaire, bust view, staring into the camera, wearing dark clothing with a white shirt collar.
Dimensions
  • Height: 232mm
  • Width: 183mm
Dimensions taken from Brian Coe & Mark Haworth-Booth, A Guide to Early Photographic Printing Processes. London: The Victoria and Albert Museum in association with Hurtwood Press, 1983.
Gallery label
  • This portrait of the writer Charles Baudelaire has controlled much of his posthumous representation both by artists and in the minds of his readers. It records his severe mouth, immoderate brow and the eyes a contemporary described as two drops of coffee. Carjat was a notable caricaturist as well as one of the most sublet portrait photographers of the great period in Paris around 1860. This print was reproduced in a series of photographs of celebrities entitled 'Galerie Contemporaine' (1876-94).(1987)
  • This portrait of the writer Charles Baudelaire has informed much of his posthumous representation. It records his severe mouth, prominent forehead and the eyes a contemporary described as two drops of coffee. Although Baudelaire had declared in 1859 that photography 'contributed much to the impoverishment of the French artistic genius', he here allowed the caricaturist and portrait photographer Étienne Carjat to capture his image. This print was reproduced in a series of celebrities entitled Galerie Contemporaine (1876-94).(2008)
Subject depicted
Charles Baudelaire
Summary
This portrait of the writer Charles Baudelaire has controlled much of his posthumous representation both by artists and in the minds of his readers. It records his severe mouth, immoderate brow and the eyes a contemporary described as two drops of coffee. Carjat was a notable caricaturist as well as one of the most sublet portrait photographers of the great period in Paris around 1860. This print was reproduced in a series of photographs of celebrities entitled 'Galerie Contemporaine' (1876-94).
Bibliographic reference
Coe, Brian & Haworth-Booth, Mark. A Guide to Early Photographic Printing Processes. London: The Victoria and Albert Museum in association with Hurtwood Press, 1983.
Collection
Prints, Drawings & Paintings Collection
Accession number
PH.1190-1980

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Record createdApril 1, 2009
Record URL
https://collections.vam.ac.uk/item/O213852/portrait-of-charles-baudelaire-photograph-carjat-etienne/
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