The Nadars, a photographic legend

The Nadars

fr

The stallion Tonneau

Adrien Tournachon, 1860

Born in 1851. Sire and mare of the Boulonnais breed, honorable mention for Boulonnais breed draft-horse stallions
Salt-paper print with a protective coating from a collodion glass negative, 17.7 x 22.7 cm.
BnF, Prints and Photographs Department, EO-99-FOL
© Bibliothèque nationale de France
In 1860, Adrien Tournachon, who had been specializing since 1855 in photographs of show animals, produced a photo album called Horse Breeds: 1860 Show. These two plates, with their careflly written captions, come from that album. Above and beyond the documentary requirements, the artist took great care with the light, and both the animals' and the handlers' poses. This genre continues to exist, as can be seen in work by Thierry des Ouches and Yann Arthus Bertrand, among others.