Photographic Display

Very shortly after their presentation to the public in 1839, the processes invented by Daguerre and Fox Talbot enabled the human figure, and inevitably one’s own image, to be captured. Various early photographers moreover often produced images of themselves using the invention they had developed, to demonstrate its efficacy.

When taking a photograph, the photographer was subject to a number of technical constraints (sensitising the plate or the paper, calculating the exposure time, controlling the lighting, manipulating the lens cap or the shutter, choice of framing) making the self-portrait a long exercise involving others. The subject, who was both photographer and model, if he was to direct the composition, had to assign a third party to take the shot: alter ego, assistant, professional or family member.

When the technical apparatus became less cumbersome in the late 1880s thanks to portable cameras and the remote shutter release and later the timer, the amateur photographer could produce his own image single-handedly. Unusual viewpoints and operational accidents might include him in the image, sometimes without his knowing, capturing his shadow, a reflection in a mirror, a trace of his presence that is more than just his face.

Les différents visages de l'autoportrait
From an attempt to capture an objective reflection and a projection of oneself, the self-portrait has taken many forms. While Victor Hugo created his own legend with the help of his sons and the faithful Vacquerie, Disdéri and Richard used their images as promotional tools, as did Nadar, who continued to photograph himself throughout his life. In photographs taken by Pierre-Louis Pierson, the Countess de Castiglione produced a large collection of narcissistic images, ranging from coquettish concealment to more risqué poses. The accidental split image (Rivière), the private aide-memoire (Vuillard), the profession of faith (Carjat, Steichen), the premise of performative techniques (Brigman) are all examples of the various aspects of self-portraits.

The Musée d'Orsay collection cannot represent the entire history of the 19th century photographic self-portrait. Recreational photography at the turn of the century is not well represented, as few great photographers worked in this area. But the importance of the photographic collections that relate to artists, whether painters, writers, sculptors, decorators or architects, gives us some idea of how their inspired use of the medium nurtured their own work.

Curator

Marie Robert, curator, Musée d'Orsay

Wishing to distinguish themselves from the commercial, documentary or recreational practices of photography, photographers at the turn of the century came together, united in a wish to have the medium recognised as an art form in itself. They gave rise to the first artistic movement in the history of photography, soon supported by a network of international exchanges (Salons and periodicals, the most influential of these being the luxuriously-produced American journal Camera Work).

An arsenal of techniques was deployed to demonstrate that, far from being merely a mechanical tool for recording reality, photography could also be an interpretive art. This included in particular the use of optical blur and pigment printing processes, which allowed manual intervention on the prints. The aim was to create an aesthetic ambiguity with engraving and drawing, even if it meant the negation of the mimetic function of photography. Thus, this strategy to have the medium accepted as an art form in its own right, though revived in a desire to accommodate amateur photographers, the elite and the avant-garde, could not avoid the paradox of allegiance to the traditional models.

 

n an effort to avoid the infectious banality of the modern world, the Pictorialists naturally turned towards the repertoire of contemporary Symbolism. This inspired them to produce images imbued with strangeness and mysticism, often staging a suspended moment of melancholic introspection. The distancing of the motif, further idealised by a misty atmosphere, was also strengthened by a Japanese-influenced taste for decorative stylisation.

Having taken inspiration from aesthetic debate and French ambitions in photography, Pictorialism nevertheless remained a heterogeneous and complex phenomenon. The photogravures printed in the journal Camera Work, the subject of the recent display devoted to the movement’s links with Impressionism, offer a special insight into the tactical variations operating between these two leading Pictorial models. The American Photo-Secession occasionally produced a subtle synthesis of this, until, influenced by the Parisian avant-garde, a new approach emerged: the idea of basing the revival of photography on its specific techniques and its ability to be in tune with contemporary urban life.

Curator

Thomas Galifot, curator, Musée d'Orsay