Count Olympe Aguado (French, 1827-1895)

Large Oak, Bois de Boulogne, circa 1855

Poitevin process photolithograph

38.6 x 28.7 cm

Photographing in the dead of winter, Aguado studied the sinuous details of the leafless oak tree set against the saplings and underbrush in the Bois de Boulogne. Count Olympio-Clémente Aguado was one of several early photographers who learned the basics of photography from Gustave Le Gray. He was known for his technical skills and the use of numerous photographic processes. In 1854 Aguado was a founding member of the Sociéte française de photographie.

In 1855, the chemist, photographer and civil engineer, Alphonse Louis Poitevin (French, 1819-1882) patented a photolithographic process which was able to photosensitize a lithographic stone. He has been described as “one of the great, unheralded figures in photography.” Poitevin’s photomechanical process was so commercially successful that he sold his patent in 1857 to Lemercier, one of the largest printing houses in France.

Attributed to Count Olympe Aguado (French, 1827–1895)

Study of a sheep, circa 1855

Salt print from a collodion negative

13.5 x 17.2 cm, corners rounded and irregularly trimmed