The J. Paul Getty Museum

G[ustave] Doré

Object Details

Title:

G[ustave] Doré

Artist/Maker:

Nadar [Gaspard Félix Tournachon] (French, 1820 - 1910)

Culture:

French

Place:

Paris, France (Place Created)

Date:

1856–1858

Medium:

Salted paper print

Object Number:

84.XM.436.98

Dimensions:

23.5 × 18.7 cm (9 1/4 × 7 3/8 in.)

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Object Description

Gustave Doré was a painter primarily known for his illustrations of books, including a version of the Bible. He was a good friend of Nadar, who photographed Doré many times, even on his deathbed.

Doré appears here in the flush of newly earned celebrity, a jaunty young man in checked trousers and a scarf. His sweep of hair cascades across his head as if blown by the wind; his overcoat gapes open to reveal a leg poised to carry him forward, as though he has places to go and can only sit still for a moment. Although the chair in which he sits is clearly visible, he appears to hover unanchored above it. Nadar has captured the spontaneity and energy of a young artist on the rise.

Provenance
Provenance
-1984

Samuel Wagstaff, Jr., American, 1921 - 1987, sold to the J. Paul Getty Museum, 1984.

Exhibitions
Exhibitions
The Flowering of Early French Photography, 1840-1870 (April 28 to June 28, 1987)
  • The J. Paul Getty Museum (Malibu), April 28 to June 28, 1987
The Flowering of Early French Photography: Selections from the J. Paul Getty Museum Collection (December 20, 1988 to May 7, 1989)
  • The Baltimore Museum of Art (Baltimore), December 20, 1988 to February 12, 1989
  • Toledo Museum of Art (Toledo), March 11 to May 7, 1989
Nadar (June 6, 1994 to July 9, 1995)
  • Musée d'Orsay (Paris), June 6 to September 11, 1994
  • The Metropolitan Museum of Art (New York), April 3 to July 9, 1995
Nadar/Warhol: Paris/New York (July 20, 1999 to May 28, 2000)
  • The J. Paul Getty Museum at the Getty Center (Los Angeles), July 20 to October 10, 1999
  • The Andy Warhol Museum (Pittsburgh), November 6, 1999 to January 30, 2000
  • The Baltimore Museum of Art (Baltimore), March 12 to May 28, 2000
Portraits of Renown: Photography and the Cult of Celebrity (April 3 to September 2, 2012)
  • The J. Paul Getty Museum at the Getty Center (Los Angeles), April 3 to September 2, 2012
The Thrill of the Chase: The Wagstaff Collection of Photographs at the J. Paul Getty Museum (March 15, 2016 to May 7, 2017)
  • The J. Paul Getty Museum at the Getty Center (Los Angeles), March 15 to July 31, 2016
  • Wadsworth Atheneum (Hartford), September 10 to December 11, 2016
  • Portland Museum of Art (Portland), February 13 to May 7, 2017
Bibliography
Bibliography

Nadar/Warhol: Paris/New York (Los Angeles: The J. Paul Getty Museum), fig. 1.

Baldwin, Gordon, and Judith Keller. Nadar Warhol: Paris New York: Photography and Fame. Introduction by Richard Brilliant. (Los Angeles: J. Paul Getty Museum, 1999), p. 115.

Martineau, Paul. The Thrill of the Chase: the Wagstaff collection of photographs at the J. Paul Getty Museum. (Los Angeles: J. Paul Getty Museum, 2016), p. 71, pl. 22.