Portrait Album
photographers unknown
1870
30.5 x 23.0 cm
PN 2205 A34
This album of portraits features actresses, singers, and dancers, demonstrating the growing popularity of celebrity photographs. Emerging technologies and formats such as the wet collodion process and the carte-de-visite format made mass reproduction of such celebrity portraits possible.
Though portraits often rely on a basic formula, the aesthetics of photographic portraits can vary considerably. Some photographic studios prioritized quick and efficient picture-taking, while others—such as the studio of French photographer Nadar—were known for their artful compositions. Some of the most well-known celebrity portraits of the nineteenth century are those that Nadar made of Sarah Bernhardt. Nadar was known for creating unique portraits that appeared to express the personalities of his subjects, much like some of the portraits in this album.
In addition to considering what the individual photographs in this album suggest about the identities of their subjects, consider what the album as a whole might tell us about the identity of the person who collected and arranged these photographs.