NADAR (GASPARD FELIX TOURNACHON). Louis Veuillot, c. 1850s. 8.8x6.3" gelatin silver print on 9.5x6.8" heavy paper. Printed c. 1900. Signed in ink on print recto. Inscribed in ink on print verso: Veuillot; artist's address stamp in blue ink.

Louis Veuillot (October 11, 1813 - March 7, 1883) was a French journalist and man of letters. In 1843 he joined the staff of the Univers religieux. His methods of journalism had already provoked more than one duel, and for his polemics against the University of Paris in the L'Univers he was imprisoned for a short time.

In 1848 he became editor of the paper, which was suppressed in 1860, but revived in 1867, when Veuillot continued his ultramontane propaganda, bringing about a second suppression of his journal in 1874. Veuillot then occupied himself in writing violent pamphlets against the moderate Catholics, the Second French Empire and the Italian government. His services to the papal see were fully recognized by Pope Pius IX, on whom he wrote (1878) a monograph.

This image by Felix Nadar is printed from the original glass negative plate by Paul Nadar, his son.

Gaspard Felix Tournachon's nickname, Nadar, derived from youthful slang, but became his professional signature and the name by which he is best known today. Poor but talented, Nadar began by scratching out a living as a freelance writer and caricaturist. His writings and illustrations made him famous before he began to photograph. His keenly honed camera eye came from his successful career as a satirical cartoonist, in which the identifying characteristic of a subject was reduced to a single distinct facet; that skill proved effective in capturing the personality of his photographic subjects.

Nadar opened his first photography studio in 1854, but he only practiced for six years. He focused on the psychological elements of photography, aiming to reveal the moral personalities of his sitters rather than make attractive portraits. Bust- or half-length poses, solid backdrops, dramatic lighting, fine sculpturing, and concentration on the face were trademarks of his studio. His use of eight-by-ten-inch glass-plate negatives, which were significantly larger than the popular sizes of daguerreotypes, accentuated those effects.

At one point, a commentator said, "[a]ll the outstanding figures of [the] era--literary, artistic, dramatic, political, intellectual--have filed through his studio." In most instances these subjects were Nadar's friends and acquaintances. His curiosity led him beyond the studio into such uncharted locales as the catacombs, which he was one of the first persons to photograph using artificial light.

Credit: https://www.getty.edu/art/collection/artists/1587/nadar-gaspard-felix-tournachon-french-1820-1910/

Very good. Minor edge wear, faint surface scratches. Smudges in lower paper margin.