Arsène Houssaye (1815-1896) c. 1878

Curator: This is Étienne Carjat's portrait of Arsène Houssaye, housed here at the Harvard Art Museums. Editor: The texture! Look at the way the light catches in Houssaye’s beard—almost fibrous, like spun wool. Curator: Carjat, a contemporary of Nadar, skillfully used photography to elevate figures like Houssaye, a writer and director of the Théâtre Français. It speaks to the cultural capital associated with artistic and literary circles at the time. Editor: The sharp focus on the face combined with the soft background is so calculated. It's a manufactured image, carefully constructed for bourgeois consumption. Curator: Absolutely. It's a portrait of a man of letters, but also a reflection of photography's emerging role in shaping public perception. Editor: It makes you think about the labor involved, the photographer and his subject collaborating, negotiating the image. Curator: Indeed, and the photograph's journey from Carjat's studio to our museum, shifting its cultural significance over time. Editor: It’s all so fascinating to consider when we look at the material reality of it.