The Cleveland Museum of Art
Collection Online as of April 27, 2024
Sarah Bernhardt in "Zaire" by Voltaire
1874
(French, 1828–1906)
Image: 27.3 x 21.3 cm (10 3/4 x 8 3/8 in.); Matted: 50.8 x 40.6 cm (20 x 16 in.)
John L. Severance Fund 1996.245
Location: not on view
Description
Carjat’s portrait studio, like those of Nadar and Mathew Brady, made its reputation on celebrity portraiture. An important segment of that market was the theatrical portrait. Thanks to photographs and engravings made from them and published in newspapers, performers like French actress Sarah Bernhardt gained international fame. “The Divine Sarah” is seen here at age 30 costumed for a play about star-crossed lovers set during the Crusades. Like Nadar, Carjat preferred plain backdrops to let the sitters’ poses, expressions, and costumes tell their story. The long exposure times, however, limited the theatricality of their poses.- Cleveland Museum of Art, Tom E Hinson. Catalogue of Photography. Cleveland, OH: Cleveland Museum of Art, 1996. Reproduced: P. 120
- Cheating Death: Portrait Photography’s First Half Century. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (October 22, 2016-February 5, 2017).France at the Dawn of Photography. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (October 4, 2009-January 24, 2010).19th-Century French Portrait Photography from the Cleveland Museum of Art. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (May 27-August 9, 2000).Paris, A l'Image du Grenier sur l'Eau, Sylvain and Yves Di Maris, Nov. 9 - Dec. 22, 1990: "Etienne Carjar, 1828-1906: Photographies d'Acteurs," exhibition catalogue no. 16, p. 16, repr. p. 18.
- {{cite web|title=Sarah Bernhardt in "Zaire" by Voltaire|url=false|author=Étienne Carjat|year=1874|access-date=27 April 2024|publisher=Cleveland Museum of Art}}
Source URL:
https://www.clevelandart.org/art/1996.245