Étienne Carjat

Étienne Carjat (; 28 March 1828 – 8 March 1906) was a French journalist, caricaturist and photographer. He co-founded the magazine Le Diogène, and founded the review . He is best known for his numerous portraits and caricatures of political, literary and artistic Parisian figures. His best-known work is the iconic portrait of Arthur Rimbaud which he took in October 1871. The location of much of his photography is untraceable after being sold to a Mr. Roth in 1923.

Biography Carjat was born in Fareins, a commune in the Ain department in eastern France. When he was ten, his family moved to Paris, and in 1841, at the age of thirteen, he was apprenticed to Mr. Cartier, a silk manufacturer. At first he was employed in mundane activities, but he came to the attention of the chief designer, M. Henry, who was pleased with drawings he had made to amuse children and he was transferred to the design department. He remained there for three years. Interested in the theatre, in 1854 Carjat published a series of lithographic caricatures of Parisian actors, each being accompanied by a comic verse. These proved popular and Carjat later used reproductions to make cartes de visite, and the photographer Pierre Petit produced enlarged versions. Carjat's photographic skills developed and he produced numerous portraits of celebrity subjects, his photographs being distinguished by the absence of the elaborate ornamentation that other photographers favoured. His photographs captured the spirit of his subjects by their dramatic postures and expressions. His work was recognised internationally, and he received awards in Paris (1863 and 1864), in Berlin (1867), and at the Paris Exposition Universelle (1867). Portrait photography may have been his main interest at this time, but he continued with his editing activities and publishing cartoons in the popular press.

In 1865, he sold his workshop to Légé and Bergeron. From 1866 to 1869, he moved to number 62 Rue Jean-Baptiste-Pigalle, then to 10 Rue Notre-Dame-de-Lorette. He was a friend of the painter Gustave Courbet; (like Courbet) he supported the Paris Commune in 1871, and published political poems in their newspaper La Commune. He continued in his work as a caricaturist, published in particular in the newspaper Le Diogène of which he was the co-founder. He also published a book, Artiste et citoyen, in 1883. Another well-known photograph is a brooding portrait of the poet Charles Baudelaire.

Publications Croquis biographiques (1858) Les Mouches vertes, satire (1868) Peuple, prends garde à toi ! Satire électorale (1875) Artiste et citoyen: poésies; précédées d'une lettre de Victor Hugo (1883)

Photographs and caricatures