Portret van Adolphe Belot 1874 - 1879

Ferdinand Mulnier created this portrait of Adolphe Belot in France using photography. It comes to us from a period when photography was still a relatively new medium, and its relationship to the established art world was being negotiated. Here, we see the photo presented within a bound volume entitled, "Galerie Contemporaine", suggesting that photography was being elevated to the status of fine art on par with painting and sculpture. This is further emphasized by the framing of the portrait. The portrait shows Belot, a playwright and novelist, in formal attire. The photograph, like the sitter's dress, suggests bourgeois respectability. But was this image simply a neutral record? Who was this book for? It might be useful to compare Mulnier’s photo with other contemporary images of Belot. What can his personal archive reveal about the politics of his image? By investigating the social and institutional contexts of this image, we come to understand how photographs such as this helped to construct celebrity and shape cultural values.