John Lemoinne c. 1880

Goupil & Cie. produced this photograph of John Lemoinne sometime between 1850 and 1884. Goupil, located in France, was a leading international art dealership. They produced and sold prints and photographs of paintings to a growing market of middle-class consumers. This portrait is part of a series called ‘Galerie Contemporaine’, which captured prominent men of the era. Here, Lemoinne, a French journalist, embodies bourgeois respectability through his formal attire and posed demeanor. His hand gestures toward his chest, perhaps an indication of the seriousness he brings to his work. But this seriousness is also a commodity. To understand this image fully, we might consider the rise of mass media, the growth of celebrity culture, and the institutional role of photography in constructing social identities. The art historian can access a variety of sources, including periodicals, business records, and personal correspondence, to better understand the social and cultural life of this photograph.