[Emmanuel Frémiet]
Possibly by Edmond Bénard French
Not on view
The relationship between art and photography was heavily contested throughout the second half of the nineteenth century. Between 1880 and 1910, Bénard attempted to bridge this gulf by compiling a four-volume photographic series of artists and their studios. This portrait of sculptor Emmanuel Frémiet (1824–1910), who was known for applying meticulous realism to highly romanticized views of the Middle Ages, appeared in the first book along with images of such artistic luminaries as academic painter William Bouguereau (1825–1905).