Nadar

French, 1820-1910

BiographyBorn Paris 1820 d. Paris, 1910

Gaspard-Félix Tournachon, better known as Nadar, is best remembered for introducing the modern portrait photograph based on a direct psychological approach to his subject. Born in Paris into a family of publishers, during the 1840s he first established himself as a writer, publisher and caricaturist, before turning to photography. At this time, he also adopted the pseudonym Nadar (from “Tourne à dard”), a nickname he gained from his talent as a caricaturist. While working on his elaborate lithographic Panthéon Nadar of contemporary French cultural celebrities, he developed an interest in professional portrait photography, initially working in the establishment of his younger brother Adrien Tournachon (1825-1903) before setting up his independently-owned studio in 1855. Nadar’s successful photographic practice relied on his ability to identify and accentuate his subject’s features, a skill that he had formerly applied as a caricaturist. In combination with expert lighting, he possessed a particular talent for capturing his subject’s essence through their facial expressions and physiognomies.

Many scholars consider the years between 1855 -1860 to be Nadar’s greatness period in portrait photography. Among his first photographs were those of his writer friends Alfred de Vigny, Théophile Gautier and Charles Baudelaire, drawn from his bohemian circle of prominent writers, actors, artists, and politicians. Subsequently, he rapidly developed a clientele that included the most interesting personalities of the day: Gustav Doré, Honoré Daumier, Sarah Bernhardt, Édouard Manet, Gustave Courbet and many more. As his portrait business flourished, he became regarded as one of the most significant figures in France’s expanding celebrity culture that was emerging in tandem with the rise of photography and periodicals.

In addition to his pioneering contributions to portrait photography, Nadar pursued technological innovations. In the field of aerial photography, he is recognized for taking the first aerial photographs of Paris from a hot air balloon (1858). He also experimented with artificial light and attempted underground photography, producing over 100 images of the catacombs and sewers of Paris in 1861-62.

Nadar remained involved in the field of photography until the end of his life. In 1887, after giving up his portrait studio and leaving it to his son Paul Nadar (1856-1939) he founded the journal Paris photographe in 1891 and published his memoirs Quand j’etais photographe in 1899. Among other notable accomplishments, Nadar was among the first to conceive of the ‘photographic interview’, which he introduced in 1886.

Nadar's life and portraits remain an object of broad interest and the Jeu de Paume, Paris (2018-19); Bibliothèque National de France (2018); J. Paul Getty Museum, Los Angeles (1999); and the Musée d'Orsay, Paris (1994), among others, have mounted recent exhibitions of his work. In addition to four photographs in TMA's collection, Nadar's work is in many major collections worldwide, including the British Museum, London; National Portrait Gallery, London; Bibliothèque National de France, Paris; Museum of Modern Art, New York; Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York; National Gallery of Art, Washington DC; J. Paul Getty Museum, Los Angeles; and the Art Institute of Chicago, among many others.

With few exceptions, Nadar’s negatives are held in the Caisse Nationale des Monuments Historiques et des Sites (head office, Hôtel de Sully, Paris); studio prints are held in the Bibliothèque Nationale, Paris.

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