Nadar with Eugène Chevreuil on his Hundredth Birthday
Nadar (Gaspard-Félix Tournachon)
French, 1820–1910
1886
An 1886 albumen silver print by Nadar that stages a studio portrait of a photographer and an elderly man on his hundredth birthday, aiming to capture personality and the intimacy of the occasion.
You’re struck by the theatrical intimacy—the two men leaning over a plaid‑covered table, the elder’s wild white hair and lively expression set against the other’s intent posture and camera, all rendered in warm sepia with crisp studio detail.
The photograph shows how late‑19th‑century portraiture used posed, narrative arrangements and the albumen print to shape individual identity and public memory, helping expand photography’s role as both documentary record and theatrical art.
Medium
Albumen silver print
Dimensions
5 11/16 × 4 3/16" (14.5 × 10.6 cm)
Classification
Department
Credit
Suzanne Winsberg Collection. Gift of Suzanne Winsberg
Accession
548.2009
Palette
Art Terms
Exhibitions
