Portrait of Paul Nadar, c. 1862
Vintage collotype, mounted on card
Image size (tondo): 9 ¼ x 7 ¼ in.
Mount size: 9 ¾ x 7 ⅝ in.
February 5, 2024
Félix Nadar’s soulful portrait of his young son perfectly illustrates why Nadar is so highly regarded as a portrait photographer. Nadar explored what he referred to as the “psychological side of photography,” offering not just a likeness of the person but their persona as well, capturing what he described as “the intimate resemblance.” Nadar achieved these results by creating a relaxed and sociable atmosphere in his studio, and devoting himself almost exclusively to photographing friends (often famous) from his bohemian social circle. Nadar’s interests were myriad—he took the first aerial photographs of Paris from a tethered balloon, and presented the first exhibition of Impressionist painting, among other notable accomplishments—so when his focus drifted elsewhere, he eventually left the operation of the portrait studio to his son Paul, seen here as a boy.
