Mathias Häusermann
1850s–60s
Medium
Albumen silver print from glass negative
Dimensions
36.9 x 32.3 cm. (14 1/2 x 12 3/4 in.)
Classification
Photographs
Department
Photographs
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
David Hunter McAlpin Fund, 1948
Accession Number
48.83.44
Tags
Art Historical Context
**Mathias Häusermann** is a striking portrait by Swiss photographer Franz Antoine, created in the 1850s–60s. Capturing the seated figure of Mathias Häusermann amid books and a table, this image exemplifies mid-19th-century bourgeois portraiture, where subjects often posed with symbols of intellect and status to convey their social standing. Antoine's work reflects the era's fascination with photography as a democratizing art form, allowing everyday individuals like Häusermann to achieve a lasting visual legacy. Printed as an albumen silver print from a glass negative, the photograph showcases...
About the Artist
Franz Antoine · 1815–1886
Franz Antoine (1815–1886) was an Austrian botanist and horticulturalist who served as court gardener at the Imperial Gardens of Schönbrunn in Vienna, one of the most celebrated horticultural establishments in nineteenth-century Europe. His career unfolded at the intersection of scientific botany and the decorative arts of the garden, positioning him as a key figure in the cultivation and documenta...