Jacques-Joseph Ebelman on his Deathbed

Louis-Rémy Robert

March 31, 1852 · Waxed paper negative · Photographs

This paper negative, from the collection of Robert's descendants, shows Jacques-Joseph Ebelmen, director of the Sèvres porcelain factory, on his deathbed March 31, 1852. From its inception, photography was enlisted to record the faces of the deceased-it was, in effect, a new type of death mask. As the antipode to proper representation of the living world, the negative is particularly appropriate for a depiction of death. In it, Ebelmen's head-with pallid skin and white hair-rests on black pillows, and the slight solarization of the negative suggests a spiritual aura.

Artist

Louis-Rémy Robert

Date

March 31, 1852

Medium

Waxed paper negative

Department

Photographs

Credit line

Purchase, The Hite Foundation Gift, 2000