Art Institute of Chicago

The Chess Players

William Henry Fox Talbot

Date

c. 1843/47

Medium

Salted paper print

Culture

England

Department

Photography and Media

Institution

Art Institute of Chicago

The negative-positive process created by William Henry Fox Talbot, and the possibilities for reproduction that it introduced, dominated photography until the digital age. Talbot’s initial experiments show both his interest in science (as he worked to refine his process) and his artistic aspirations. Scholars have confirmed that Talbot took 10 or more views of chess players, yet this one—likely of noted photographer Antoine Claudet and Talbot’s assistant Nicolaas Henneman—may not be his. This print and other variants of the same scene are unsigned, and on a different paper from Talbot’s normal stock. Recent scholarship posits that the images might have been made in Claudet’s studio before ending up in Henneman’s possession; this print could have entered Talbot’s holdings when Henneman gave him prints as payment toward a debt.

The authoritative record is held by Art Institute of Chicago. LinkedCulture surfaces this object and its connections; it does not alter institutional metadata.