Madame Carrelle

Discussion

FROM THE ART INSTITUTE OF CHICAGO’S CATALOG

The studio known as Mayer and Pierson was the joint venture of Pierre-Louis Pierson (1822–1913), and brothers Léopold Ernest Mayer (1817–1865) and Louis Frédéric Mayer (1822–1912), who also had run separate daguerreotype studios in Paris. Working in partnership from 1855, the trio captured portraits of French society and royalty, most notably the family and court of Napoleon III. The studio became known for an objective, unmannered, but elegantly fashionable style that became popular in the French capital. This example shows one Madame Carrelle in an ethnic costume of an enigmatic origin. Although the background is spare, the glimpse of her shoe suggests that she is ready for a performance.

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