Getty Museum
Auguste Luchet
Creator
Nadar [Gaspard Félix Tournachon]French Photographer · 1820–1910
All works by this person →> The sun is only the practitioner, M[r]. Nadar is the artist who wants to give him some work. So wrote a critic of Gaspard Félix Tournachon in 1859. Tournachon's nickname, Nadar, derived from youthful slang, but became his professional signature and the name by which he is best known today. Poor but talented, Nadar began by scratching out a living as a freelance writer and caricaturist. His writi
More on Getty ULAN- Date
- 1855–1859
- Medium
- Salted paper print
- Culture
- French
- Department
- Photographs
- Institution
- Getty Museum
The writer Auguste Luchet regards the camera directly yet distrustfully. His life had been difficult, and his character and appearance were noted for their outward harshness. He was at least twice Nadar's subject, first in 1851 when Nadar made him the subject of a captioned caricature and second when he posed for the camera. Despite his rough-hewn appearance, Luchet had a delicacy of expression in conversation and an honest and generous heart. Luchet's political opinions aligned with those of Nadar, and the two men could be supposed to have much in common. It is thus somewhat surprising that Luchet stares suspiciously, awkwardly constrained in his pose. The overall effect of the portrait is intimate but far from flattering.
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