Still Life with Statuary and Drapery

Download2596 × 3400 px View on a wall Edit

Artist: Hippolyte Bayard (French, 1801–1887)
Medium: Albumenized salt print from wet collodion negative
Size: Image: 26.6 x 20.6 cm (10 1/2 x 8 1/8 in.); Mounted: 34.9 x 27.2 cm (13 3/4 x 10 11/16 in.); Matted: 50.8 x 40.6 cm (20 x 16 in.)
Culture: France, 19th century
Museum: Cleveland Museum of Art
Rights: CC0 — no rights reserved

Unlike his contemporaries, Bayard was fascinated with ancient Greco-Roman statuary. From his inventory of over forty examples, he created a captivating still life of plaster casts that affirms his technical proficiency and sensitivity to subject matter. Bright, natural light illuminates the figures and bas reliefs. Their three-dimensionality is emphasized by the stark contrast of their white surfaces with the dark background. The composition is also embellished with gracefully flowing draperies, which frame the scene.

Bayard appears not to have had any formal artistic or scientific training, but was a key figure and talented inventor in the early history of photography. Although his contributions were initially ignored, he went on to become a distinguished member of the photographic community in Paris. This rare print from a wet collodion negative is the outcome of Bayard's experimentation with the direct paper positive process, which he began around 1839.