Portrait of Baudelaire
1857
From the collection of Cleveland Museum of Art
1857
From the collection of Cleveland Museum of Art
Dominant colour
Portrait of Baudelaire is a 1857 by Nadar, a Impressionism work, held at Cleveland Museum of Art.
This is a black-and-white portrait of a man with a serious expression. He’s wearing a dark coat with a white collar and a bow tie, looking straight ahead. The background is plain and dark, keeping all the focus on his face. The artist used soft shading to show light and shadow on his face, giving it a gentle look. This style was common in early photography-inspired portraits. Next, check out chiaroscuro to see how artists used light and shadow like this.
