Portret van Charles Amédée de Noé before 1879

Ferdinand Mulnier made this portrait of Charles Amédée de Noé, known as Cham, sometime between 1850 and 1875. It's a photograph within a book opened to a spread about the caricaturist, with examples of his work above text about him. As an artist working during the Second Empire in France, Cham found fame for his satirical cartoons published in journals like Le Charivari. This was a period of rapid social and political change, and Cham's caricatures often poked fun at the bourgeoisie, political figures, and everyday life in Paris. His work both reflected and shaped public opinion during this time, contributing to a culture of satire and critique that challenged the status quo. To understand this image better, we might research the French press of the period, alongside the history of photography as it developed as a technology.