Sarah Bernhardt in "Zaire" by Voltaire
Medium
albumen print from wet collodion negative
Dimensions
image: 27.3 × 21.3 cm · matted: 50.8 × 40.6 cm
Classification
Photograph
Department
Photography
Museum
Cleveland Museum of Art
Credit
John L. Severance Fund
Accession Number
1996.245
Tags
About this artwork
Carjat’s portrait studio, like those of Nadar and Mathew Brady, made its reputation on celebrity portraiture. An important segment of that market was the theatrical portrait. Thanks to photographs and engravings made from them and published in newspapers, performers like French actress Sarah Bernhardt gained international fame. “The Divine Sarah” is seen here at age 30 costumed for a play about star-crossed lovers set during the Crusades. Like Nadar, Carjat preferred plain backdrops to let the s...