Pierre-Ambroise Richebourg
1844 (ca)
Louis Jacques Mandé Daguerre

Daguerreotype
3 1/2 x 2 3/4 ins
 
Metropolitan Museum of Art
Gilman Collection, Gift of The Howard Gilman Foundation, 2005, 2005.100.611
 
(Curatorial description, Accessed: 30 March 2022)
Daguerre's supposed reluctance to be photographed perhaps explains the relatively small number of daguerreotypes that depict him. Although some evidence suggests that this piece is a self-portrait, other factors make such an attribution uncertain. In any case, this image, despite damage to the plate, remains one of the most engaging portraits of the inventor of photography. The pose, in which he rests one arm on a table, is standard, but the expression and regard remain slightly unfixed as Daguerre, eyes squinted and head cocked, looks directly at the camera.

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The pose is standard, but the expression remains slightly unfixed as Daguerre, eyes squinted and head cocked, looks directly at the camera.
 
This illustration was included in the lecture "The many faces of Daguerre" presented by Matt Isenburg at the Daguerreian Society Symposium (2009).
 
LL/35502