Sarah Bernhardt 1864

Curator: There’s such a serene yet powerful quality to this gelatin silver print. It's a portrait of Sarah Bernhardt by Félix Nadar, taken around 1864. Editor: Yes, there’s a real gravity to the image. It feels incredibly intimate. Her gaze is so focused, even in profile, almost melancholy. The light seems to cling to that incredible velvet. Curator: Think about Nadar’s process at that moment. He was one of the pioneers in using artificial light. It certainly speaks to how portrait photography democratized access. Bernhardt’s rise to fame, combined with a new method to reproduce her image – there's commentary there. Editor: Exactly, think about Bernhardt as an artist. To me, her striking features subvert typical expectations for women during that time. Nadar captures a strength in her gaze and that billowing fabric reminds me of theatre curtains, calling to mind ideas around constructed femininity and performance, and, moreover, who was granted access to that performance. Curator: And the use of velvet can be viewed as so much more than adornment. In the nineteenth century, it signified status. In this medium, we're granted visual access to the real or manufactured wealth this portrait offers to exhibit. Editor: That wealth isn’t just financial but theatrical and emotional. Bernhardt controls her narrative in every glance, pose, or costume selection. Nadar isn’t merely documenting; he's collaborating in constructing a persona that commands our attention even now. A new level of fame enabled by Nadar's method of mechanical reproduction of the image! Curator: Yes, Nadar offered the modern celebrity that mode of circulation, for her face to meet new gazes as it were! Editor: Absolutely. The combined mastery of each artist. Seeing Bernhardt through a contemporary lens illuminates enduring questions surrounding fame, identity, and the forces that shape them. Curator: Understanding photographic innovations as they shape and, are in turn shaped by, fame adds dimension to how we reflect on our own contemporary moment, where the mass distribution of digital portraits shapes identities on a global scale. Editor: Indeed, seeing that throughline only deepens the layers of engagement for me.