- Date:
- 1865
- Original Format:
- Carte de Visite
- Item#:
- MES15662
- Photographer:
- Disderi (Paris)
Andre Adolphe Disderi (1819-c.1890)
Andre Adolphe Eugene Disderi was a remarkable French photographer, famous for inventing the "carte de visite," very small portraits on heavy cards, patented in 1854. In 1859 Disderi's life changed dramatically when Napoleon III stopped his army outside Disderi's studio to have his photo taken. Disderi is also considered the inventor of the twin-lens reflex camera. Although one of the richest photographers in Europe at the height of his fame, Disderi died penniless as a beach photographer. In an unusually informal pose, the artist creates a self-portrait in his own studio, circa 1865.