575 - Adolphe Bilordeaux (Paris 1807 - 1872 Paris)

Adolphe Bilordeaux (Paris 1807 - 1872 Paris) Socrates with hemlock cup, around 1859 albumen print, toned with platinum chloride 38,2 x 28,6 cm photographer’s blind-stamp ”photographie artistique et religieuse Adolphe Bilordeaux, Paris 119 Rue St Maur” with a now loose label (which was formerly attached to the reverse) mounted SCHÄTZPREIS / ESTIMATE € 500 - 1200 STARTPREIS / STARTING PRICE € 500 Adolphe Billordeaux was a 19th-century French photographer whose work falls primarily within the realm of photographing antiquities and sculptures. His images exemplify the early use of the photographic medium to precisely render artworks, sculptural forms, and historical objects. His focused depiction of sculptures and ancient motifs illustrates the close connection between photography, archaeology, and art-historical documentation—a relationship that had been developing in France since the mid-19th century. Billordeaux’s work belongs to the broader context of French art photography, alongside figures such as Gustave Le Gray and the early tradition of photographic reproduction and documentary photography. Photographing sculptures and antiquities, in particular, demanded a meticulous command of light, contrast, and composition to translate the three-dimensional quality of the objects into the photographic medium. The tradition of the *nature morte*—or photographic still life—also provides a relevant context: as with Le Gray and other early French photographers, the arranged object is not merely documented but crafted into a distinct photographic image through the use of lighting, framing, and tonal values. PLEASE NOTE: The purchase price consists of the highest bid plus the buyer's premium, sales tax and, if applicable, the fee of artists resale rights and platform fee. In the case of normal taxation (marked ° at the estimate), a premium of 24% is added to the highest bid. The mandatory sales tax is added to the sum of the highest bid, the buyer's premium and platform fee. This amounts to 13% for paintings, drawings, graphic works and sculptures and 20% for photographs and all other items. The buyer's premium amounts to 28% in case of differential taxation. The sales tax is included in the differential taxation.