.jpg?w=1)
Lot Essay
Please note that due to the delicate nature and fine condition of this photograph it will not be viewed out of its frame.
In recent years a resurgence of interest in medical photography has occurred, highlighted by the work of Dr. Stanley B. Burns, Early Medical Photography in America (1839-1883) and evidenced by the recent exhibition in Paris, À Corps et à Raison: Photographies Medicales 1840-1920. As one of the earliest photographic documents of medicine, Nadar's series of a young hermaphrodite punctuates this fervor. The only medical photographs by Nadar, little is known about their role in the greater scope of his photographic career. Furthermore, Nadar only noted the series once during his lifetime and never pursued medical photographs after completion of the project.
As a young man in 1837-38, Nadar studied medicine in Lyon and Paris, where he began to feed his passion for medical subjects. Although he later abandoned these studies, his fascination for the natural sciences continued to grow and influence his photography. Sometime in late 1860, early 1861, Nadar made a series of nine known photographs of a young hermaphrodite. Believed to be commissioned by Professor Armand Trousseau, an acquaintance and well-known figure in the French medical community, Nadar documented the figure in a series of poses. It is thought that the series was intended as a record of the figure's appearance prior to medical treatment.
Although never directly referring to the hermaphrodite, Trousseau proclaims in a letter to Nadar, "My dear friend, you must, I repeat, you must immediately do the photographic portrait of the young woman whom my friend Dr. Dumont-Pallier will bring to you. She suffers from a very strange malady that must be depicted so that in several months we can gauge the results of the treatment. See this young person and photograph her strange infirmity with as much truth and art as you can. Many thanks./A. Trousseau." (Bibliothèque Nationale de France, Départmente des Manuscriptes, Nouvelles Acquisitions Françaises, 24286/491, c.f. Nadar, p. 96, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, 1995).
The "treatment" referred to by Trousseau alludes to an operation comparable to one performed in 1862 by Jules-Germain Maisonneuve, a specialist in genital disorders. In addition, Maisonneuve appears in one of the nine photographs, gesturing to the subject's abnormality (Nadar, pl. 95). Together these facts reinforce the theory that the "young woman" discussed in Trousseau's letter is the same figure depicted by Nadar. In 1861, Nadar copyrighted two complete sets of the prints. A detail which supports the belief that Nadar produced the photographs for scientific use, possibly publication, since he rarely took the time to copyright his portrait work. (For further information see: Nadar, pp. 97-98.)
As a unique endeavor for Nadar, this series clearly illustrates his talent as a portraitist, while at the same time revealing his curious fascination in science and the human figure. The lot offered here is only known print of this image outside of the nine separate images in the collection of the Bibliothèque Nationale de France, Paris.
In recent years a resurgence of interest in medical photography has occurred, highlighted by the work of Dr. Stanley B. Burns, Early Medical Photography in America (1839-1883) and evidenced by the recent exhibition in Paris, À Corps et à Raison: Photographies Medicales 1840-1920. As one of the earliest photographic documents of medicine, Nadar's series of a young hermaphrodite punctuates this fervor. The only medical photographs by Nadar, little is known about their role in the greater scope of his photographic career. Furthermore, Nadar only noted the series once during his lifetime and never pursued medical photographs after completion of the project.
As a young man in 1837-38, Nadar studied medicine in Lyon and Paris, where he began to feed his passion for medical subjects. Although he later abandoned these studies, his fascination for the natural sciences continued to grow and influence his photography. Sometime in late 1860, early 1861, Nadar made a series of nine known photographs of a young hermaphrodite. Believed to be commissioned by Professor Armand Trousseau, an acquaintance and well-known figure in the French medical community, Nadar documented the figure in a series of poses. It is thought that the series was intended as a record of the figure's appearance prior to medical treatment.
Although never directly referring to the hermaphrodite, Trousseau proclaims in a letter to Nadar, "My dear friend, you must, I repeat, you must immediately do the photographic portrait of the young woman whom my friend Dr. Dumont-Pallier will bring to you. She suffers from a very strange malady that must be depicted so that in several months we can gauge the results of the treatment. See this young person and photograph her strange infirmity with as much truth and art as you can. Many thanks./A. Trousseau." (Bibliothèque Nationale de France, Départmente des Manuscriptes, Nouvelles Acquisitions Françaises, 24286/491, c.f. Nadar, p. 96, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, 1995).
The "treatment" referred to by Trousseau alludes to an operation comparable to one performed in 1862 by Jules-Germain Maisonneuve, a specialist in genital disorders. In addition, Maisonneuve appears in one of the nine photographs, gesturing to the subject's abnormality (Nadar, pl. 95). Together these facts reinforce the theory that the "young woman" discussed in Trousseau's letter is the same figure depicted by Nadar. In 1861, Nadar copyrighted two complete sets of the prints. A detail which supports the belief that Nadar produced the photographs for scientific use, possibly publication, since he rarely took the time to copyright his portrait work. (For further information see: Nadar, pp. 97-98.)
As a unique endeavor for Nadar, this series clearly illustrates his talent as a portraitist, while at the same time revealing his curious fascination in science and the human figure. The lot offered here is only known print of this image outside of the nine separate images in the collection of the Bibliothèque Nationale de France, Paris.