Chiffonnier
1870s
Medium
Albumen silver print from glass negative with applied color
Dimensions
23.7 x 19.2 cm (9 5/16 x 7 9/16 in.)
Classification
Photographs
Department
Photographs
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
Gilman Collection, Museum Purchase, 2005
Accession Number
2005.100.505.1 (33a)
Tags
Art Historical Context
In the 1870s, amid the vibrant yet gritty urban life of Paris, this poignant albumen silver print captures a *chiffonnier*—a humble ragpicker who scavenged the streets for discarded fabrics, paper, and scraps to sell. Titled simply *Chiffonnier*, the unknown photographer immortalizes a weathered man with his baskets, evoking the daily toil of the working class during France's Second Empire and post-Commune era. Measuring 23.7 x 19.2 cm, this intimate portrait from the Metropolitan Museum of Art's Gilman Collection highlights the human stories behind the city's modernization. The medium—albume...
About the Artist
Unknown
The artist designated as "Unknown" in our virtual museum's collection exemplifies a poignant chapter in art history: creators whose identities have faded into obscurity despite the enduring power of their work. With only one known artwork attributed to them in our holdings, this figure represents countless anonymous hands that shaped visual culture across centuries. Museums worldwide, including th...