[Paul Nadar at the Breast of His Wet Nurse]
1856
![[Paul Nadar at the Breast of His Wet Nurse] by Nadar](https://images.artheonmuseum.org/met/ph/thumb/paul-nadar-at-the-breast-of-his-wet-nurse-285632.webp)
Medium
Salted paper print from glass negative
Dimensions
Image: 10 15/16 × 8 7/8 in. (27.8 × 22.5 cm)
Classification
Photographs
Department
Photographs
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
Gilman Collection, Purchase, Jennifer and Joseph Duke Gift, 2005
Accession Number
2005.100.798
Tags
Art Historical Context
In 1856, pioneering French photographer Nadar (aspard-Félix Tournachon) captured extraordinarily intimate moment in *Paul Nadar at the of His Wet Nurse*: young son nursing from a wet nurse. This salted paper print from a glass negative exemplifies early photographic innovation, where light-sensitive paper in salt and silver iodide produced soft, tonal images with subtle gradations. Measuring nearly 11 by 9 inches, it reflects the medium's infancy, as glass negatives allowed for detailed, reproducible prints during photography's rapid evolution in mid-19th-century Europe. Nadar, renowned for h...