Charles Nègre

waxed-paper negative, framed, 1850s

The collection of the photographer

By descent to his son, Charles Nègre

André Jammes, Paris, 1950s

Sotheby's Paris, La Photographie III: Collection of Marie-Thérèse and André Jammes, L'Oeuvre de Charles Nègre, 22 March 2002, Sale PF2003, Lot 349, Hans P. Kraus, New York, agent

New York, Guggenheim Museum, Speaking with Hands: Photographs from The Buhl Collection, June - September 2004

West Palm Beach, Norton Museum of Art, A Show of Hands: Photographs and Sculpture from the Buhl Collection, January - March 2008

Seoul, South Korea, Daelim Contemporary Art Museum, Speaking with Hands: Photographs from The Buhl Collection (Asian tour), March - May 2009, and 2 other Asian venues through 2011 (see Appendix 1)

Jennifer Blessing, Speaking with Hands: Photographs from The Buhl Collection (Guggenheim Foundation, 2004), pp. 28 and 237 (this negative)

A modern positive print made from this negative:

Françoise Heilbrun, Charles Nègre (Berlin, 1988), p. 49

Viewed with even only a modest amount of back-lighting, this negative possesses a surprising luminosity. This negative has rich brown-gold tones, and while it portrays its subject with an almost ghost-like ethereality, there is a great deal of corporeal detail to be seen in the hand itself. It is a very impressive piece. The negative is on thin paper, rendered translucent by the application of wax. When examined closely, a number of faint creases can be seen in the image, visible in our catalogue illustration primarily in the lower portion. Also visible in the catalogue illustration are a series of spots which are most likely features of the paper base. Close examination shows a series of faint linear pencil markings in the lower left corner. Clearly, in its day this object served the purpose for which it was created: it has the look of a negative that has been used to make prints, and shows some consequent signs of careful handling. None of its condition issues detracts from the overwhelmingly fine appearance of this powerful image. The negative is currently in a double window mat, so that it can be placed in front of a light source and viewed. It is attached to the mat with four pieces of thin paper tape.
In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective qualified opinion.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING CONDITION OF A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD "AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF SALE PRINTED IN THE CATALOGUE.

The pioneering photography collector and dealer, André Jammes, from whom this waxed-paper negative originally comes, acquired Nègre’s archive from a descendant of the photographer in the late 1950s.  Jammes brought this long-neglected work to public attention with his lavishly produced 1963 Charles Nègre Photographe: 1820-1880.  The book, which featured tipped-in plates from Nègre’s original negatives, won the prestigious Prix Nadar for best photographic book of the year and spurred a number of international exhibitions of Nègre’s work in the following decades.

Like photographers Gustave Le Gray and Henry Le Secq, Charles Nègre studied painting with academic painters Paul Delaroche and Jean Auguste Dominique Ingres.  Upon seeing a demonstration of daguerreotypy in 1844, Nègre began to experiment with the new medium as studies for his painting.  The negative offered here presents a rare anatomical study of the hand, the most difficult part of the body to render proportionately in painting and drawing.

This early, waxed-paper negative was taken shortly after Nègre began experimenting with paper photography in 1850.  Following the processes of Talbot and Blanquart-Évrard, Nègre coated ordinary paper with a solution of salt and, subsequently, with silver nitrate, to create a light-sensitive surface capable of capturing an image.  Depending on light conditions, exposure took anywhere from seconds to hours.  The exposed paper, subsequently washed in gallic acid and silver nitrate, was then waxed to increase its transparency and facility as a negative.  Nègre adapted painting techniques to enhance his images, often shading the paper negative with pencil to delineate form.

This negative is accompanied by a modern calotype print of the image made in 1977 by Claudine Sudre.