Portret van Émile Ollivier, minister-president van Frankrijk 1867 - 1880

This portrait of Émile Ollivier, the minister-president of France, was captured by Georges Mathurin Legé around 1870 using early photographic techniques. In this era, photography was emerging as a powerful tool for documentation and representation, particularly of those in positions of power. Ollivier's image, stiff and formal, reflects the conventions of 19th-century portraiture, a visual language used to convey authority and respectability. Yet, the photograph also hints at the complex political landscape of the time, with France on the brink of the Franco-Prussian War and the subsequent collapse of Ollivier's government. The portrait stands as a silent witness to a period of upheaval, capturing a leader at a moment of both power and vulnerability. What does it mean to look at a photograph of a man who held so much power, knowing what was about to occur?