 |
| Newly discovered "daguerreotype" of Frédéric Chopin |
*An important update (19 October 2017) concerning this likeness of Chopin has been issued by The Fryderyk Chopin Institute. All information detailed by Unraveling Musical Myths in the article below contains information that was presented by the same institute and the Institut Polonais as accurate at the time of posting). Click here to view the latest update. -Rose.
The Institut Polonais in Paris has announced the exciting arrival of a c.1847 potential daguerreotype featuring the likeness of famed 19th century Polish Romantic composer Frédéric Chopin, which was recently discovered by Swiss physicist and “Chopin connoisseur” Alain Kohler in what the Institute’s website claims was a “private home.”
The alleged daguerreotype – only one of three known live portraits of the composer in existence – displays a pensive, perhaps even somber–looking Chopin, and is believed to have been captured at the studio of French photographer Louis-Auguste Bisson, the very same cameraman who shot the iconic seated (and weathered-looking) portrait of the composer in 1849, just months shy of Chopin’s death in October of that year of what physicians at the time believed was consumption (tuberculosis).[fig. II] That diagnosis and cause of death has since been ruled inconclusive.
The newly discovered portrait was authenticated as a true likeness of the composer following what the Institute describes as a “thorough investigation,” co-headed by Kohler and musician Gilles Bencimon of Radio France International.
According to the Institute’s news feed, the historic discovery of a previously unknown artifact by Kohler was not an isolated incident. Back in 2015, the scientist was lauded with discovering a grand piano in Germany, which coincidentally, is also linked to Chopin - the maestro's Pleyel Grand Piano no 11265.
The instrument is noted as having been played by Chopin himself: it was this on this very piano that the composer taught his aristocratic students from within the confines of his living room in apt #9, 80 rue Taitbout at Paris’ Square d'Orléans during the winter-spring stretch in 1844/45. It is believed Chopin may have also worked on preliminary sketches for his Sonata for cello and piano, his 65th opus, on the instrument.
View the now three-strong "photographs"* of Chopin below:
 |
| *figs. 1 & 2 are photographic reproductions of since-lost daguerreotypes. The medium / technique used to produce the newly discovered portrait (fig.3) remains under investigation at the time of this posting, however it was presented by Kohler as a "probable" daguerreotype. |
Further reading (external links):
- A history of Les Pianos Pleyel and Chopin during the 1844-45 stretch (en Français)
- Pleyel discovery - press (Kohler, in English; PDF)
Chopin's Sonata for Cello in Piano in G Minor, Op. 65, movement III (Largo); Jacqueline du Pré /Daniel Barenboim:
A (different) third photograph (alleged), said to showcase the likeness of Chopin in post-mortem repose, “surfaced” in March 2011 courtesy of Polish photographer and collector Wladyslaw Zuchowski, who claimed to have purchased the daguerreotype from the hands of a private collector in Scotland in December of that year.
According to Zuchowski, the funereal photo, which the photographer believes was shot just moments after the composer’s untimely demise at age 39 in Paris, bears an imprint of the year 1849 – the year of Chopin’s death – and the name of the aforementioned photographer Louis-Auguste Bisson.
Zuchowski’s claim of possessing what would have been the third known live capture of the composer in existence was largely debunked by photography/Chopin experts and curators later that year.
View the purported photo, and read more about the ill-fated ‘discovery’ here.
-Rose.
No comments:
Post a Comment