Girl with Wreath
SOLD November 2014 |
Quarter plate French daguerreotype of couple with an uncomfortably-postured, stiff young girl with fixed stare, perhaps blind or with a neurological disorder, holding a ribboned wreath, circa 1850. Resealed in passe-partout mount as found. Visible area of plate slightly over 3.5 x 2.75 inches (9x7 cm), dimensions of mount about 6 x 5 inches (15x12 cm). With applied color in red.
This and the following Lot 4 were found as pair and I believe represent the same father and daughter in each image.
This plate is one of a pair of images which seem to depict the same little girl and father. In both images the father places a hand against the girl's head in distinctive, almost mesmeric, and probably habitual gesture perhaps intended to calm the girl. In the present image, he also holds one of her hands, while her body adopts a seemingly stiff and unresponsive posture. Unlike the other sitters, her gaze is not drawn to the camera but is directed to right in an apparently unfocused fashion.
Comparing the two images at first gives an impression that the girl suffers from some sort of neurological disorder, but on reflection her condition may be blindness, which would account for the need for her head to be held quiet and in correct position during the exposure (whose purpose she would of course not understand). Ultimately these intriguing images must remain for the viewer to interpret.
The present plate seems connected with a festive occasion of some kind. The mother holds a bouquet of flowers, and the girl a floral wreath to which an inscribed ribbon (unfortunately not readable, except for an "R") has been attached. The emotional tone of this image it is very like that of post-mortem images -- the sadness and great love of two parents and their effort to make the occasion as happy as possible for their disabled child, whose unfortunate obstacles nevertheless remain.
Plate is in excellent condition and has a good range of contrast. There are some defects in the original cover glass.
