Étienne Carjat

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Étienne Carjat
caricaturist, photographer

Étienne Carjat (French pronunciation:

caricaturist and photographer. He co-founded the magazine Le Diogène, and founded the review Le Boulevard. He is best known for his numerous portraits and caricatures of political, literary and artistic Parisian figures. His best-known work is the iconic portrait of Arthur Rimbaud which he took in October 1871.[1] The location of much of his photography is untraceable after being sold to a Mr. Roth in 1923.[2]

Biography

Carjat was born in

cartes de visite, and the photographer Pierre Petit produced enlarged versions.[2]

In 1858, Carjat learned the profession of photography from Pierre Petit, and in 1861, he moved into his own workshop at number 56 Rue Laffitte in Paris. This was the same location as the offices of the newspaper Le Boulevard, which he founded, and which was run by his friend Alphonse de Launay. The poet Charles Baudelaire contributed to this weekly magazine.[3] Carjat's photographic skills developed and he produced numerous portraits of celebrity subjects, his photographs being distinguished by the absence of the elaborate ornamentation that other photographers favoured.[4] His photographs captured the spirit of his subjects by their dramatic postures and expressions. His work was recognised internationally, and he received awards in Paris (1863 and 1864), in Berlin (1867), and at the Paris Exposition Universelle (1867). Portrait photography may have been his main interest at this time, but he continued with his editing activities and publishing cartoons in the popular press.[5]

In 1865, he sold his workshop to Légé and Bergeron. From 1866 to 1869, he moved to number 62 Rue Jean-Baptiste-Pigalle, then to 10 Rue Notre-Dame-de-Lorette. He was a friend of the painter Gustave Courbet;[6] (like Courbet) he supported the Paris Commune in 1871, and published political poems in their newspaper La Commune.[7] He continued in his work as a caricaturist, published in particular in the newspaper Le Diogène of which he was the co-founder. He also published a book, Artiste et citoyen, in 1883.[2]

One of his best-known photographs is a portrait of Arthur Rimbaud, taken in October 1871. Paul Verlaine, Rimbaud and Carjat were part of Vilains Bonshommes, a group created in 1869, which brought together poets and artists like André Gill, Théodore de Banville and Henri Fantin-Latour. In January 1872, a quarrel broke out during a dinner organized by this group, and Rimbaud injured Étienne Carjat with the cane-sword of Albert Mérat. In reaction, Étienne Carjat erased the photographic plates corresponding to the portraits he had taken of Rimbaud, and only eight prints of the original photographs survive.[8] Another well-known photograph is a brooding portrait of the poet Charles Baudelaire.[9]

Publications

Photographs and caricatures

References

  1. ^ "How Arthur Rimbaud became the blueprint for outsider teen fashion". Document Journal. 28 March 2019. Retrieved 26 March 2020.
  2. ^
    ISBN 9781135873264
    . Retrieved 23 February 2016.
  3. ISSN 0261-3077
    . Retrieved 26 March 2020.
  4. ^ Champsaur, Félicien (1879). Etienne Carjat. A. Cinqualbre. pp. 2–3.
  5. ^ "Étienne Carjat". National Gallery of Art. Retrieved 25 February 2020.
  6. ISBN 9782051008037
    .
  7. ISBN 9782876733909
    .
  8. ISBN 9782909317663
    .
  9. ^ "Charles Baudelaire". Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History. The Metropolitan Museum of Art. Retrieved 25 February 2020.
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