[Alexander Calame] 1860s

This photographic portrait of Alexander Calame was taken sometime between 1859 and 1870 by Vuagnat in Switzerland. Calame was a well-known painter of idealized, sublime landscapes. What does it mean to have your portrait taken as an artist? Consider the institutional importance of portraiture, and the way it canonized its subjects. The image itself is a very deliberate construction. Calame is shown seated with his palette and brushes, posed like a respectable bourgeois gentleman. Everything about this image speaks to the cultural values of the time: the celebration of individual achievement, the importance of social status, and the role of art in upholding these values. Photographs like this one provide invaluable information for art historians. We can compare it with other portraits of artists, look for patterns in how artists wanted to be represented, and delve into the social conditions that shaped their careers. By doing so, we gain a deeper understanding of not only the individual artist, but the entire art world of their time.