Mlle Troisvalets

Art Historical Context

In the bustling photographic studios of mid-19th-century Paris André-Adolphe-Eène Disdéri capturedMlle Troisvalets a poised portrait from the 185s–60s. This album silver print, made from a glass negative, the elegant Mademoiselle—likely a performer or actress of the era—in a format that highlights the era's fascination with celebrity and self-presentation. Measuring 7 3/8 × 9 1/4 inches, the image is mounted on a larger album page, evoking personal photograph albums that became cherished keepsakes in Victorian homes. Disdéri, a trailblazing French photographer, revolutionized the medium by inventing the carte de visite—a small, affordable portrait card that sparked a collecting craze across Europe and America. Though this print is larger, it reflects his mastery of the wet-collodion process on glass negatives, which produced sharp details and rich tonal range. The albumen coating, derived from egg whites, gave the print its signature warm glow and fine texture, making photography accessible beyond the elite. This work, part of the Gilman Collection at The Metropolitan Museum of Art, embodies photography's shift from novelty to cultural staple, democratizing portraiture and immortalizing figures like Mlle Troisvalets in everyday life. A window into Second Empire glamour, it invites us to ponder how images shaped identity and fame.

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...