Jean Benyoumof
1900-1910
Dakar-Mulatto (Senegal) [Dakar-Mulâtresse (Sénégal)]

Postcard, photomechanical
Metropolitan Museum of Art
Visual Resource Archive, Department of the Arts of Africa, Oceania, and the Americas, Accession Number: VRA.PC.AF.0014
 
Published by Jean Benyoumoff.
 
Included in the "In and Out of the Studio: Photographic Portraits from West Africa" exhibition at the Metropolitan Museum of Art (31 August 2015-3 January 2016).
 
Curatorial description (Accessed: 7 October 2015)
The production of postcards involves several steps undertaken by different specialists. A photographer takes the picture, an editor selects the image, a printer or factory produces the actual object, and a publisher distributes it. Often these figures overlap or are unknown, rendering the question of authorship more ambiguous. Although Benyoumoff's origins are not known, his use of unique and easily recognizable backdrops facilitates the attribution of his works. He also often made his postcards in two versions, one black and white and the other tinted with color mechanically added to the monochromatic image.
 
LL/61677