French Romanticism Archives - Maureen Taylor The Photo Detective Tue, 10 Jan 2017 18:26:16 +0000 en-US hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=6.9.4 https://maureentaylor.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/cropped-site-icon-32x32.png French Romanticism Archives - Maureen Taylor 32 32 99869351 Daguerreotype Dangers https://maureentaylor.com/daguerreotype-dangers/ Wed, 12 Feb 2014 23:42:00 +0000 https://maureentaylor.com/daguerreotype-dangers/ In 1842, the French playwright and author Honore de Balzac posed for a daguerreotype. The realistic nature of this reflective image led him to declare that he’d never pose for another. He thought it would steal a bit of his soul each time. Honore de Balzac, by Bisson, 1842 There are many tribes who believe […]

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]]> In 1842, the French playwright and author Honore de Balzac posed for a daguerreotype. The realistic nature of this reflective image led him to declare that he’d never pose for another. He thought it would steal a bit of his soul each time.

Honore de Balzac, by Bisson, 1842

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/68/Honor%C3%A9_de_Balzac_%281842%29.jpg

There are many tribes who believe (or believed) this to be the case.  So did this idea spring up spontaneously in various cultures around the world or can it be attributed to Balzac?

This interesting tidbit came from author John Tresch, The Romantic Machine (University of Chicago Press, 2012).  Tresch’s book won the History of Science Pfizer Award.   He devoted a whole chapter to the daguerreotype and it’s place in French Romanticism.

 

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