Portrait of a Young Boy

Discussion

FROM THE CLEVELAND MUSEUM OF ART’S CATALOG

Baron Humbert de Molard, a wealthy amateur, began taking daguerreotypes of his friends, family, and servants in 1843. The following year he became one of the earliest Frenchmen to experiment with paper print processes. This salted paper print was made from a glass-plate negative sensitized with albumen. The stiff pose, placement of the subject’s hands, and glaring gaze are likely due to the long exposure time required by those materials. They imbue a young boy with the gravity and formality of a much older man.

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