Étienne Carjat (28 March 1828 – 8 March 1906) was a French journalist,

caricaturist A caricaturist is an artist who specializes in drawing caricatures. List of caricaturists * Abed Abdi (born 1942) * Al Hirschfeld (1903–2003) * Alex Gard (1900–1948) * Alexander Saroukhan (1898–1977) * Alfred Grévin (1827–1892) * Alf ...

and

photographer A photographer (the Greek language, Greek φῶς (''phos''), meaning "light", and γραφή (''graphê''), meaning "drawing, writing", together meaning "drawing with light") is a person who makes photographs. Duties and types of photographe ...

. He co-founded the magazine ''Le Diogène'', and founded the review '' Le Boulevard''. He is best known for his numerous portraits and caricatures of political, literary and artistic Parisian figures. His best-known work is the iconic portrait of

Arthur Rimbaud Jean Nicolas Arthur Rimbaud (, ; 20 October 1854 – 10 November 1891) was a French poet known for his transgressive and surreal themes and for his influence on modern literature and arts, prefiguring surrealism. Born in Charleville, he start ...

which he took in October 1871. The location of much of his photography is untraceable after being sold to a Mr. Roth in 1923.

Biography

Carjat was born in

Fareins Fareins () is a commune in the Ain department in eastern France. Population See also *Communes of the Ain department The following is a list of the 393 communes of the Ain department of France. The communes cooperate in the following ...

, a commune in the

Ain Ain (, ; frp, En) is a department in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region in Eastern France. Named after the Ain river, it is bordered by the Saône and Rhône rivers. Ain is located on the country's eastern edge, on the Swiss border, where ...

department in eastern France. When he was ten, his family moved to Paris, and in 1841, at the age of thirteen, he was apprenticed to Mr. Cartier, a silk manufacturer. At first he was employed in mundane activities, but he came to the attention of the chief designer, M. Henry, who was pleased with drawings he had made to amuse children and he was transferred to the design department. He remained there for three years. Interested in the theatre, in 1854 Carjat published a series of lithographic caricatures of Parisian actors, each being accompanied by a comic verse. These proved popular and Carjat later used reproductions to make ''

cartes de visite The ''carte de visite'' (, visiting card), abbreviated CdV, was a type of small photograph which was patented in Paris by photographer André Adolphe Eugène Disdéri in 1854, although first used by Louis Dodero. Each photograph was the size of ...

'', and the photographer Pierre Petit produced enlarged versions. In 1858, Carjat learned the profession of photography from Pierre Petit, and in 1861, he moved into his own workshop at number 56

Rue Laffitte Rue Laffitte is a street in the 9th arrondissement of Paris, located near the Metro stations Richelieu - Drouot and Notre-Dame-de-Lorette. This street was created in 1771 between the Boulevard des Italiens and the Rue de Provence. Its original ...

in Paris. This was the same location as the offices of the newspaper ''Le Boulevard'', which he founded, and which was run by his friend Alphonse de Launay. The poet

Charles Baudelaire Charles Pierre Baudelaire (, ; ; 9 April 1821 – 31 August 1867) was a French poetry, French poet who also produced notable work as an essayist and art critic. His poems exhibit mastery in the handling of rhyme and rhythm, contain an exoticis ...

contributed to this weekly magazine. Carjat's photographic skills developed and he produced numerous portraits of celebrity subjects, his photographs being distinguished by the absence of the elaborate ornamentation that other photographers favoured. His photographs captured the spirit of his subjects by their dramatic postures and expressions. His work was recognised internationally, and he received awards in Paris (1863 and 1864), in Berlin (1867), and at the Paris

Exposition Universelle (1867) The International Exposition of 1867 (french: Exposition universelle 'art et d'industriede 1867), was the second world's fair to be held in Paris, from 1 April to 3 November 1867. A number of nations were represented at the fair. Following a dec ...

. Portrait photography may have been his main interest at this time, but he continued with his editing activities and publishing cartoons in the popular press. In 1865, he sold his workshop to Légé and Bergeron. From 1866 to 1869, he moved to number 62 Rue Jean-Baptiste-Pigalle, then to 10 Rue Notre-Dame-de-Lorette. He was a friend of the painter

Gustave Courbet Jean Désiré Gustave Courbet ( , , ; 10 June 1819 – 31 December 1877) was a French painter who led the Realism movement in 19th-century French painting. Committed to painting only what he could see, he rejected academic convention and ...

; (like Courbet) he supported the

Paris Commune The Paris Commune (french: Commune de Paris, ) was a revolutionary government that seized power in Paris, the capital of France, from 18 March to 28 May 1871. During the Franco-Prussian War of 1870–71, the French National Guard had defended ...

in 1871, and published political poems in their newspaper ''La Commune''. He continued in his work as a caricaturist, published in particular in the newspaper ''Le Diogène'' of which he was the co-founder. He also published a book, ''Artiste et citoyen'', in 1883. One of his best-known photographs is a portrait of

, taken in October 1871.

Paul Verlaine Paul-Marie Verlaine (; ; 30 March 1844 – 8 January 1896) was a French poet associated with the Symbolist movement and the Decadent movement. He is considered one of the greatest representatives of the '' fin de siècle'' in international and ...

, Rimbaud and Carjat were part of Vilains Bonshommes, a group created in 1869, which brought together poets and artists like

André Gill André Gill (17 October 1840 – 1 May 1885) was a French caricaturist. Born Louis-Alexandre Gosset de Guînes at Paris, the son of the Comte de Guînes and Sylvie-Adeline Gosset, Gill studied at the Royal Academy of Painting and Sculpture. H ...

Théodore de Banville Théodore Faullain de Banville (14 March 1823 – 13 March 1891) was a French poet and writer. His work was influential on the Symbolist movement in French literature in the late 19th century. Biography Banville was born in Moulins in Allier, A ...

and

Henri Fantin-Latour Henri Fantin-Latour (14 January 1836 – 25 August 1904) was a French painter and lithographer best known for his flower paintings and group portraits of Parisian artists and writers. Biography He was born Ignace Henri Jean Théodore Fantin-La ...

. In January 1872, a quarrel broke out during a dinner organized by this group, and Rimbaud injured Étienne Carjat with the cane-sword of Albert Mérat. In reaction, Étienne Carjat erased the photographic plates corresponding to the portraits he had taken of Rimbaud, and only eight prints of the original photographs survive. Another well-known photograph is a brooding portrait of the poet

Publications

*''Croquis biographiques'' (1858) *''Les Mouches vertes, satire'' (1868) *''Peuple, prends garde à toi ! Satire électorale'' (1875) *''Artiste et citoyen: poésies; précédées d'une lettre de Victor Hugo (1883)

Photographs and caricatures

File:Étienne Carjat, Portrait of Charles Baudelaire, circa 1862.jpg,

File:Carjat--portrait of louis emile benassit (1833-1902).jpg,

Louis Émile Benassit Louis Émile Benassit (20 December 1833 – 9 August 1902) was a French artist and raconteur. He cut a colorful figure in the literary and artistic circles of Paris in the 1860s and 1870s, known equally for his satirical drawings and for his ...

File:Berlioz caricature by Étienne Carjat.jpg, Hector Berlioz File:Georges bizet.jpg, Georges Bizet File:Alexandre Dumas 11.jpg,

Alexandre Dumas Alexandre Dumas (, ; ; born Dumas Davy de la Pailleterie (), 24 July 1802 – 5 December 1870), also known as Alexandre Dumas père (where '' '' is French for 'father', to distinguish him from his son Alexandre Dumas fils), was a French writer ...

File:Alexandre Dumas.jpg,

File:Carjat Arthur Rimbaud 1872 n2.jpg,

File:Composer_Rossini_G_1865_by_Carjat_-_Restoration.jpg,

Gioachino Rossini Gioachino Antonio Rossini (29 February 1792 – 13 November 1868) was an Italian composer who gained fame for his 39 operas, although he also wrote many songs, some chamber music and piano pieces, and some sacred music. He set new standards ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Carjat, Etienne 1828 births 1906 deaths People from Ain French photographers French caricaturists French journalists French male non-fiction writers