[Seated Model, Partially Draped]

Nadar

1856–59 · Salted paper print from glass negative · Photographs

This photograph traditionally has been associated with Scènes de la vie de Bohème, stories by Henri Murger based on the lives of his friends. The character Mimi, a girl of easy virtue, owed much to Murger's girlfriend Lucille, who died of consumption. Although we cannot know whether this unique print portrays Lucille, the easy attitude of the woman's pale thin body and her beguiling regard confirm her membership in the sorority of Mimis.

Artist

Nadar

Date

1856–59

Medium

Salted paper print from glass negative

Department

Photographs

Credit line

Gilman Collection, Purchase, The Horace W. Goldsmith Foundation Gift, through Joyce and Robert Menschel, 2005