George Sand | A striking portrait of the author by Gaspard-Félix Tournachon Nadar

Doyle New York, 25 November 2014, lot 644

Acquired from the above by the present owner

Maria Morris Hambourg, Françoise Heilbrun, and Philippe Néagu, Nadar (New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 1995), p. 53

Adam Begley, The Great Nadar: The Man Behind the Camera (New York, 2017), p. 118

French Romantic novelist Amandine-Aurore-Lucile Dudevant adopted the pseudonym George Sand in 1832 for the publication of Indiana, a groundbreaking novel which brought her instant acclaim. Sand’s writing pushed the boundaries of French literature in the mid-19th century; she sympathetically portrayed the French working class as admired heroes and explored the new, complex dynamics of social class relationships. 

Sand was close friends with the leading Parisian portrait photographer Nadar (Gaspard Félix Tournachon). In the present work, her shapeless garment and explosion of hair result in a focused and intimate portrait of Sand’s features which remain in the visual center of the image. Nadar’s portrait reveals a powerful woman, whose straightforward gaze confronts the viewer. Photographs such as the present cartes de visite were widely circulated at the time as Sand’s public recognition grew. At the time of this writing, however, it is believed that no other example of this portrait has come to auction.