Untitled (Portrait of Wild Animal Tamer Jacob Driesbach with Jaguar) 1850

Frederick Langenheim's 1850 daguerreotype, "Untitled (Portrait of Wild Animal Tamer Jacob Driesbach with Jaguar)," captures a thrilling moment of performance. The image showcases Driesbach, a renowned animal tamer, lying on the ground with a jaguar draped over his body. The intensity of the scene is heightened by the stark contrast between light and shadow, a characteristic of the daguerreotype process. The small, intimate size of the daguerreotype suggests a personal or private viewing experience, highlighting the fascination with the spectacle of animal taming in 19th-century America.