Charles Nègre
Encyclopedia
Charles Nègre was a pioneering photographer born in Grasse
, France. He studied under the painters Paul Delaroche, Ingres
and Drolling
before establishing his own studio at 21 Quai Bourbon on the Île Saint-Louis
, Paris
. Delaroche encouraged the use of photography as research for painting; Nègre started with the daguerreotype
process before moving on to calotype
s. His "Chimney-Sweeps Walking", an albumen print
taken on the Quai Bourbon in 1851, may have been a staged study for a painting, but is nevertheless considered important to photographic history for its being an early instance of an interest in capturing movement and freezing it forever in one moment.
Having been passed over for the Missions Héliographiques
which commissioned many of his peers, Nègre independently embarked on his own remarkably extensive study of the Midi region. The interesting shapes in his 1852 photograph of buildings in Grasse have caused it to be seen as a precursor to art photography. In 1859, he was commissioned by Empress Eugénie to photograph the newly-established Imperial Asylum in the Bois de Vincennes, a hospital for disabled workingmen.
He used both albumen and salt print
, and was known also as a skilled printer of photographs, using a gravure
method of his own development. A plan commissioned by Napoleon III to print photographs of sculpture never came to fruition, and in 1861 Nègre retired to Nice
, where he made views and portraits for holiday makers. He died in Grasse in 1880.
Grasse
-See also:*Route Napoléon*Ancient Diocese of Grasse*Communes of the Alpes-Maritimes department-External links:*...
, France. He studied under the painters Paul Delaroche, Ingres
Jean Auguste Dominique Ingres
Jean-Auguste-Dominique Ingres was a French Neoclassical painter. Although he considered himself to be a painter of history in the tradition of Nicolas Poussin and Jacques-Louis David, by the end of his life it was Ingres's portraits, both painted and drawn, that were recognized as his greatest...
and Drolling
Michel Martin Drolling
Michel Martin Drolling was a neoclassic French painter , painter of history and portraitist.-Biographie:He was born in Paris. There he began painting under the supervision of his father, the painter Martin Drolling, then after 1806 he studied with Jacques Louis David. For his Colère of Achilles...
before establishing his own studio at 21 Quai Bourbon on the Île Saint-Louis
Île Saint-Louis
The Île Saint-Louis is one of two natural islands in the Seine river, in Paris, France . The island is named after King Louis IX of France ....
, Paris
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
. Delaroche encouraged the use of photography as research for painting; Nègre started with the daguerreotype
Daguerreotype
The daguerreotype was the first commercially successful photographic process. The image is a direct positive made in the camera on a silvered copper plate....
process before moving on to calotype
Calotype
Calotype or talbotype is an early photographic process introduced in 1841 by William Henry Fox Talbot, using paper coated with silver iodide. The term calotype comes from the Greek for 'beautiful', and for 'impression'....
s. His "Chimney-Sweeps Walking", an albumen print
Albumen print
The albumen print, also called albumen silver print, was invented in 1850 by Louis Désiré Blanquart-Evrard, and was the first commercially exploitable method of producing a photographic print on a paper base from a negative...
taken on the Quai Bourbon in 1851, may have been a staged study for a painting, but is nevertheless considered important to photographic history for its being an early instance of an interest in capturing movement and freezing it forever in one moment.
Having been passed over for the Missions Héliographiques
Missions Héliographiques
Prosper Mérimée established the Missions Héliographiques in 1851 to supplement Monument historique a program he had established in 1837 to classify, protect and restore French landmarks. Mérimée, noted author of Carmen, served as France's Inspector General of Historical Monuments, and he hired...
which commissioned many of his peers, Nègre independently embarked on his own remarkably extensive study of the Midi region. The interesting shapes in his 1852 photograph of buildings in Grasse have caused it to be seen as a precursor to art photography. In 1859, he was commissioned by Empress Eugénie to photograph the newly-established Imperial Asylum in the Bois de Vincennes, a hospital for disabled workingmen.
He used both albumen and salt print
Salt print
The salt print was the dominant paper-based photographic process for producing positive prints during the period from 1839 through approximately 1860....
, and was known also as a skilled printer of photographs, using a gravure
Photogravure
Photogravure is an intaglio printmaking or photo-mechanical process whereby a copper plate is coated with a light-sensitive gelatin tissue which had been exposed to a film positive, and then etched, resulting in a high quality intaglio print that can reproduce the detail and continuous tones of a...
method of his own development. A plan commissioned by Napoleon III to print photographs of sculpture never came to fruition, and in 1861 Nègre retired to Nice
Nice
Nice is the fifth most populous city in France, after Paris, Marseille, Lyon and Toulouse, with a population of 348,721 within its administrative limits on a land area of . The urban area of Nice extends beyond the administrative city limits with a population of more than 955,000 on an area of...
, where he made views and portraits for holiday makers. He died in Grasse in 1880.