Antoine Samuel Adam-Salomon
Encyclopedia
Antoine Samuel Adam-Salomon (9 January 1818 – 28 April 1881 ) was a French sculptor
and photographer
.
, he received a scholarship to study sculpture in Paris, as well as travelling to Switzerland and England. His notable sculptures include busts of Victor Cousin
, Odilon Barrot
, Pierre-Jean de Béranger
, Alphonse de Lamartine
, Gioachino Rossini, and Marie Antoinette
.
and received the Légion d’honneur the same year. Adam-Salomon's portrait photographs were considered to be among the best examples in existence during his lifetime, and were renowned for their chiaroscuro
produced by special lighting techniques.
described photography as "this chance invention which will never be art, but only a plagiarism of nature through a lens." A short time later, after seeing the photographic work of Adam-Solomon, Lamartine reversed his claim.
by a ratio of ten to one. After the Paris Exposition of 1867
the The Times reviewer called Salomon's pictures "matchless", "beyond praise," "the finest photographic portraits in the world."
In the 1868 edition of the British Journal of Photography Almanac, editor J. Traill Taylor wrote:
Sculpture
Sculpture is three-dimensional artwork created by shaping or combining hard materials—typically stone such as marble—or metal, glass, or wood. Softer materials can also be used, such as clay, textiles, plastics, polymers and softer metals...
and photographer
Photography
Photography is the art, science and practice of creating durable images by recording light or other electromagnetic radiation, either electronically by means of an image sensor or chemically by means of a light-sensitive material such as photographic film...
.
Early career
Following a brief career as a modeler for the Jacob Petit pottery factory in FontainebleauFontainebleau
Fontainebleau is a commune in the metropolitan area of Paris, France. It is located south-southeast of the centre of Paris. Fontainebleau is a sub-prefecture of the Seine-et-Marne department, and it is the seat of the arrondissement of Fontainebleau...
, he received a scholarship to study sculpture in Paris, as well as travelling to Switzerland and England. His notable sculptures include busts of Victor Cousin
Victor Cousin
Victor Cousin was a French philosopher. He was a proponent of Scottish Common Sense Realism and had an important influence on French educational policy.-Early life:...
, Odilon Barrot
Odilon Barrot
Camille Hyacinthe Odilon Barrot was a French politician.-Early life:Barrot was born at Villefort Lozère. He belonged to a legal family, his father, an advocate of Toulouse, having been a member of the Convention who had voted against the death of Louis XVI. Odilon Barrot's earliest recollections...
, Pierre-Jean de Béranger
Pierre-Jean de Béranger
Pierre-Jean de Béranger was a prolific French poet and chansonnier , who enjoyed great popularity and influence in France during his lifetime, but faded into obscurity in the decades following his death...
, Alphonse de Lamartine
Alphonse de Lamartine
Alphonse Marie Louis de Prat de Lamartine was a French writer, poet and politician who was instrumental in the foundation of the Second Republic.-Career:...
, Gioachino Rossini, and Marie Antoinette
Marie Antoinette
Marie Antoinette ; 2 November 1755 – 16 October 1793) was an Archduchess of Austria and the Queen of France and of Navarre. She was the fifteenth and penultimate child of Holy Roman Empress Maria Theresa and Holy Roman Emperor Francis I....
.
Photography
Later in his life, Adam-Salomon became a leading portrait photographer after studying under the portraitist Franz Hanfstaengl in Munich in 1858. Adam-Salomon opened a portrait studio in Paris in 1859, and in 1865 he opened a second Paris studio. In 1870 he was made a member of the Société française de photographieSociété française de photographie
The Société française de photographie is an association, founded in 1854, devoted to the history of photography. It has a large collection of photographs and old cameras...
and received the Légion d’honneur the same year. Adam-Salomon's portrait photographs were considered to be among the best examples in existence during his lifetime, and were renowned for their chiaroscuro
Chiaroscuro
Chiaroscuro in art is "an Italian term which literally means 'light-dark'. In paintings the description refers to clear tonal contrasts which are often used to suggest the volume and modelling of the subjects depicted"....
produced by special lighting techniques.
Acceptance of photography as art
The photography of Adam-Salomon played a pivotal role in the mainstream acceptance of photography as an art form. For example, in 1858 the poet Alphonse de LamartineAlphonse de Lamartine
Alphonse Marie Louis de Prat de Lamartine was a French writer, poet and politician who was instrumental in the foundation of the Second Republic.-Career:...
described photography as "this chance invention which will never be art, but only a plagiarism of nature through a lens." A short time later, after seeing the photographic work of Adam-Solomon, Lamartine reversed his claim.
Critical praise
Coverage of his work in the French press outnumbered that of Félix NadarNadar (photographer)
Félix Nadar was the pseudonym of Gaspard-Félix Tournachon , a French photographer, caricaturist, journalist, novelist and balloonist. Some photographs by Nadar are marked "P. Nadar" for "Photographie Nadar" .-Life: born in April 1820 in Paris...
by a ratio of ten to one. After the Paris Exposition of 1867
Exposition Universelle (1867)
The Exposition Universelle of 1867 was a World Exposition held in Paris, France, in 1867.-Conception:In 1864, Emperor Napoleon III decreed that an international exposition should be held in Paris in 1867. A commission was appointed with Prince Jerome Napoleon as president, under whose direction...
the The Times reviewer called Salomon's pictures "matchless", "beyond praise," "the finest photographic portraits in the world."
In the 1868 edition of the British Journal of Photography Almanac, editor J. Traill Taylor wrote:
The important discovery of the past year has been that M. Adams-Salomon, a Parisian photographer, has produced portraits of so high class as to show us the true capabilities of photography, and how much we have yet to overcome ere similar perfection can be claimed for the works of our average artists. It is far from being pleasant to know that we are so far behind the Parisians; but, believing such to be the case, the knowledge of the fact will, without doubt, rouse English artists to a sense of their shortcomings and the particular direction in which progress must be made.
External links
- Philadelphia Museum of Art collection of 65 Adam-Salomon photographs
- Adam-Salomon's bust sculptures of Elisabeth of BavariaElisabeth of BavariaElisabeth of Austria was the spouse of Franz Joseph I, and therefore both Empress of Austria and Queen of Hungary. She also held the titles of Queen of Bohemia and Croatia, among others...
at Sotheby's, and Edwin ChadwickEdwin ChadwickSir Edwin Chadwick KCB was an English social reformer, noted for his work to reform the Poor Laws and improve sanitary conditions and public health...
at National Portrait Gallery