Munt met een portret en een halo van elektrische stroom

This peculiar print by Maurice Boudet de Paris shows a coin-like disc enveloped by what is described as an electric halo. What are we to make of this? Well, the late nineteenth century was a time of great experimentation, and in France, this included psychic research. Boudet was part of a milieu that was exploring occult phenomena through photography. Here, the image is a scientific experiment and a piece of quasi-religious iconography all in one. While photographic portraits of monarchs and presidents had become commonplace, this portrait has no clear referent. Instead, its ‘electric halo’ suggests a generalized image of power, now seemingly emanating from the very material of currency itself. This piece is less about aesthetic beauty than it is about the social and cultural meanings attached to coins, especially in a rapidly changing society. To better understand this image, we can look at period publications on both photography and psychic phenomena. Art is always embedded in specific social and institutional contexts, and the historian’s job is to uncover these.