Pierrot Laughing

Adrien Tournachon|Nadar|Jean-Charles Deburau

1855 · Gelatin-coated salted paper print (vernis-cuir) · Photographs

We owe the contemporary image of Pierrot to the famous mime Jean-Gaspard Baptiste Duburau, who replaced the ruff and wide white hat of the commedia dell'arte character with the long blank face and black skull cap that we recognize today. Charles Duburau, his son and also a mime, was asked by Nadar and his brother Adrien to pose for a series of "têtes d'expression" that would serve as publicity for the brothers' struggling studio. The series was an enormous popular success.

Artist

Adrien Tournachon|Nadar|Jean-Charles Deburau

Date

1855

Medium

Gelatin-coated salted paper print (vernis-cuir)

Department

Photographs

Credit line

Purchase, The Horace W. Goldsmith Foundation Gift, through Joyce and Robert Menschel, 1998