Photographies par Otto Wegener - Hôtel de vente Drouot - 2018 - 46

Otto Wegener (20 January 1849, in

Helsingborg Helsingborg (, , , ) is a city and the seat of Helsingborg Municipality, Scania (Skåne), Sweden. It is the second-largest city in Scania (after Malmö) and ninth-largest in Sweden, with a population of 113,816 (2020). Helsingborg is the cent ...

– 4 February 1924, in

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...

) was a Swedish-born French portrait photographer.

Biography

He moved to Paris to open a photographic studio when he was eighteen. Where and how he learned photography is unknown. He quickly gained a reputation as a professional; specializing in photographs of cultural and entertainment personalities. He signed his works with "OTTO", in gold letters, to match the sign above the door of his studio. He eventually came to occupy four floors of the building. He taught photography to

Prince Eugen, Duke of Närke Prince Eugen Napoleon Nicolaus of Sweden and Norway, Duke of Närke (1 August 1865 – 17 August 1947) was a Swedish painter, art collector, and patron of artists. Background Prince Eugen was born at Drottningholm Palace as the fourth and ...

of Sweden and

Edward Steichen Edward Jean Steichen (March 27, 1879 – March 25, 1973) was a Luxembourgish American photographer, painter, and curator, renowned as one of the most prolific and influential figures in the history of photography. Steichen was credited with tr ...

was one of his assistants. He is most famous for his portraits of

Isadora Duncan Angela Isadora Duncan (May 26, 1877 or May 27, 1878 – September 14, 1927) was an American dancer and choreographer, who was a pioneer of modern contemporary dance, who performed to great acclaim throughout Europe and the US. Born and raised in ...

and

Marcel Proust Valentin Louis Georges Eugène Marcel Proust (; ; 10 July 1871 – 18 November 1922) was a French novelist, critic, and essayist who wrote the monumental novel ''In Search of Lost Time'' (''À la recherche du temps perdu''; with the previous Eng ...

, who was also a friend, and

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 ...

, who posed in 1893 as part of his preparation to become a candidate for membership in the

Académie Française An academy (Attic Greek: Ἀκαδήμεια; Koine Greek Ἀκαδημία) is an institution of secondary education, secondary or tertiary education, tertiary higher education, higher learning (and generally also research or honorary membershi ...

. He participated in numerous exhibitions; in France and abroad. A fire at his studio in 1916 caused significant damage. Although he knew the photographer Eugène Pirou, he was never professionally associated with him, as is often mistakenly assumed. The error came about after the brothers, Georges and Oscar Mascré, began using Pirou's name without his permission, and later advertised themselves as "Otto-Pirou", in an obvious reference to Wegener. Although he was awarded two gold medals, he never mentioned them in his promotional materials. Most of his works were in "cabinet" format (14.5 x 10 cm) or larger. Very few are in the popular "

Carte 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 o ...

" format. He had three sons, including Maurice Otto Wegener (1875-1918), an aspiring artist who reportedly died of physical and mental exhaustion, resulting from the war.Cf. ''

Le Temps ''Le Temps'' ( literally "The Time") is a Swiss French-language daily newspaper published in Berliner format in Geneva by Le Temps SA. It is the sole nationwide French-language non-specialised daily newspaper of Switzerland. Since 2021, it has ...

'', 11 April 1918, p.4
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Selected works

File:Photographies par Otto Wegener - Hôtel de vente Drouot - 2018 - 08.jpg,

Boni de Castellane Marie Ernest Paul Boniface de Castellane, Marquis de Castellane (February 14, 1867 – October 20, 1932), known as Boni de Castellane, was a French nobleman and politician. He was known as a leading '' Belle Époque'' tastemaker and the first hus ...

File:Photographies par Otto Wegener - Hôtel de vente Drouot - 2018 - 47.jpg,

Elisabeth of Bavaria Duchess Elisabeth Amalie Eugenie in Bavaria (24 December 1837 – 10 September 1898) was Empress of Austria and Queen of Hungary from her marriage to Emperor Franz Joseph I on 24 April 1854 until her assassination in 1898. Elisabeth was ...

File:Otto Wegener Proust vers 1895 bis.jpg,

File:Paul Verlaine.jpeg,

File:Claude Debussy 1900.jpeg,

Claude Debussy (Achille) Claude Debussy (; 22 August 1862 – 25 March 1918) was a French composer. He is sometimes seen as the first Impressionist composer, although he vigorously rejected the term. He was among the most influential composers of the ...

File:Photographies par Otto Wegener - Hôtel de vente Drouot - 2018 - 20.jpg,

Ida Rubinstein Ida Lvovna Rubinstein (russian: И́да Льво́вна Рубинште́йн; – 20 September 1960) was a Russian dancer, actress, art patron and Belle Époque figure. She performed with Diaghilev's Ballets Russes from 1909 to 1911 a ...

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Wegener, Otto 1849 births 1924 deaths French photographers Swedish emigrants to France People from Helsingborg