Untitled (French Military Heroes and Political Leaders)

mid-1860s

Untitled (French Military Heroes and Political Leaders), mid-1860s. André Adolphe-Eugène Disdéri (French, 1819–1889). Albumen print, montage carte de visite; image: 9.2 x 5.8 cm (3 5/8 x 2 5/16 in.); paper: 10.1 x 6.2 cm (4 x 2 7/16 in.). The Cleveland Museum of Art, John Cook Memorial Fund 2017.12 This montage of France’s military and other leaders is a mosaic carte, a form invented by Disdéri, produced by cutting photographs of hundreds of figures away from their backgrounds, mounting the likenesses on a single sheet, photographing that collage, and printing the result on 6 x 9 cm cards. These entertaining images sold well and were effective advertising for the photographer’s prowess.