Étienne Carjat (1828-1906) - Lot 20

Étienne Carjat (1828-1906) Charles Baudelaire. Paris, rue Laffitte, December 1861. Albumen print, mounted on card, signed in ink on the mount lower right, dedicated in ink by Marcel Schwob to Rachilde at the bottom: "à Rachilde - son admirateur et son ami - Marcel Schwob". 22 x 18.3 cm While the success of Galerie Contemporaine contributed to the photoglyphic distribution of this famous portrait of Charles Baudelaire by Étienne Carjat, albumen prints remain extremely rare. Marcel Schwob's dedication to Rachilde adds a special dimension to this copy. A sulphurous novelist and founder with her husband - Alfred Vallette - of the Mercure de France, the central organ of Symbolism, she hosted the Mardis du Mercure, which Marcel Schwob assiduously attended. The exchange of this portrait of Charles Baudelaire, the movement's tutelary figure, between two of its major representatives, transforms an already exceptional image into a unique artefact.