Clara Silvois
Medium
Albumen silver print from glass negative
Dimensions
Image: 7 1/2 × 9 7/16 in. (19 × 24 cm) Album page: 10 3/8 × 13 3/4 in. (26.3 × 35 cm)
Classification
Photographs
Department
Photographs
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
Gilman Collection, Gift of The Howard Gilman Foundation, 2005
Accession Number
2005.100.588.3.110
Tags
About this artwork
This photographs titled "Clara Silvois" by André-Adolphe-Eugène Disdéri dates to 1861. Executed in albumen silver print from glass negative, this work exemplifies the craftsmanship associated with Photographs. The piece demonstrates the technical skill and artistic vision characteristic of its period. The work's presence in a major museum collection attests to its significance in the broader narrative of art history. As part of institutional holdings, it serves both scholarly research and public...
Art Historical Context
In 1861, French photographer André-Adolpheugène Disdéri *Clara Silvois* a striking albumen silver print from glass negative, a hallmark of mid-19th-century photography Disdéri, renowned for the carte de visite—a small, affordable portrait format that democratized photography—produced this larger-scale image (7½ × 9⅜ inches) as a testament to his mastery. The portrait likely depicts a poised woman, embodying the era's fascination with personal identity and social status, when photography shifted from novelty to everyday art. The albumen process, using egg whites to coat paper for a glossy, ric...
About the Artist
André-Adolphe-Eugène Disdéri · 1819–1889
**André-Adolphe-Eugène Disdéri** (1819–1889) was a pioneering French photographer whose innovations transformed portraiture into a mass medium during the Second Empire. Born on March 28, 1819, in Paris, Disdéri pursued diverse careers in commerce, acting, and politics early on, while studying art amid personal hardships following his father's death, which compelled him to support his mother, sibli...