The Photographer -- A Clown or a Pierrot?

In previous posts, I illustrated how in the 1800s, photography both astonished and attracted the public, yet sometimes it frightened or even traumatized the subjects. In response, the satirical press often mocked the photographer’s errors and mishaps, targeting the young art’s numerous imperfections and problems. The satirical press also depicted the active and sometimes violent reactions of the public towards intrusive photographers, particularly after the advent of the handheld camera, which liberated photographers from the confines of the studio.

Caricatures portrayed the traumatized subjects taking revenge on photographers, often showing them in a variety of embarrassing situations, with one popular image depicting a photographer being chased by farm animals, most often bulls.

This celebrated picture by Bede has been reproduced in numerous early photography publications.

Other caricatures show photographers being troubled by farmers and others who do not appreciate their efforts or art.

Lewis Carroll’s 1860 short story "The Photographer’s Day Out" narrates the misadventures of a young photography enthusiast who trespasses on private property in pursuit of an uncooperative subject, only to have his photograph ruined by a rough country figure.

Similarly, in Ernest William Hornung’s "A Spoilt Negative" (1888), an amateur photographer in haste accidentally combines an image of a girl with one of a cow, resulting in a humorous composite.

These stories further entrenched the image of the photographer as an enigmatic figure – not exactly a clown, even though this image often appears, but rather a solemn, serious version of a jester, epitomized by Nadar’s portrayal of Pierrot.

Nadar’s famous 1854 images of mime Charles Deburau dressed as Pierrot best represents the status of the nineteenth-century photographer.

Pierrot represents the serious fool, the lonely but tireless pursuer of passion, and the alienated but trustworthy artist struggling with or against the camera. Silent, much like a photograph lacks its own language and seeks interpretation, Pierrot inhabits a world as disordered as the images in a daguerreotype. Though he may seem eerie, Pierrot’s intentions are benign, and any harm he causes is accidental.