600
He also portrayed the sculptor James Pradier, his sister,
and the Trois Mousquetaires author, Alexandre Dumas,
who seemed to be young and laughing.
Alexis Gouin produced a major part of his known
images from this time until his death in 1855. According
to an obituary column written by Lacan in La Lumière,
Gouin succumbed to death “after one of those cerebral
affections that struck like lightening.” Gouin’s widow,
and daughter Laure, who became Braquehais’ wife, all
inherited the studio.
Afterwards, Mrs Gouin maintained her miniaturist
skills and put Gouin colours up for sale and placed an
advertisement, which was frequently published on the
last page of La Lumière from 1856 onwards: “Gouin
colours. Colour of such great reputation that Mrs. Gouin
has decided to put them on the market. 75c for each
tube, 1fr for carmine. Box of colours with compartments
and drawers, consisting of an assortment of 12 tubes of
colour, a gold and a silver receptacle, and 6 brushes, all
for the price of 15fr. A special depot has been set up with
Alexis Gaudin & Bros. At rue de la Perle, 9.”
The “Gouin’s fi rm” continued creating images dur-
ing the decade and the pictures produced were quite
similar so much so that Lacan underlined Laure and her
mother’s talent which didn’t keep him from wondering
about Alexis Gouin’s real part in the work. Mrs Gouin
died in 1863 and the studio was transferred at Boulevard
des Italiens, 11, where the Braquehais couple worked
for several years.
Gouin’s negatives were recognized for their quality
and poetry, and several contemporaries’ statements
proved it, particularly the discussion of a meeting at
Lacan’s, 15 days before Gouin died, which was pub-
lished in La Lumière: “.... It is inconceivable to come
closer to perfection. His bodies are alive, their fl esh
throbs before our eyes. Nature has been captured on the
spot and translated into poetry through the talent of a
painter.” He was praised too with the descriptive phrase
“The French Claudet” or “The Claudet of Paris” and ac-
cording to E. Lacan, “this comparison is very natural.”
Indeed, as well as Antoine Claudet, Gouin was com-
monly considered a master of the stereoscopic images.
But their works differienciate themselves, especially in
the fi eld of colour use. While Claudet’s portraits contain
very few colors (some plates are even uncolored) which
the major part is not modifi ed, Gouin’s show the use of
a large number of colours often mixed with white and
neutrals. In her book, Janet E. Buerger affi rms for that
matter even a black pigment was found on one Gouin’s
plate, extremely unusual thing on daguerreotype where
the polished surface of the plate naturally produced deep
black effects. Therefore Gouin is above all received as
a fi ne colourist caring on effects and composition and
Claudet as a technician with a classical making, nearer
from the Victorian style.
Gouin’s photographs reside at the Musée d’Orsay
(Paris), George Eastman House International Museum
of Photography and Film (New York), Agfa Foto-His-
torama (Cologne) and in several private collections
like Derville (Paris) Nazarieff (Geneva), Van Keulen
(Amsterdam), Auer,(Geneva) or Briechle (Munich).
At present, although he was absent from most of the
great books on the subject, his work is shown in texts
and in daguerreotypes and photography exhibitions. The
last exhibition where appeared his pictures took place
at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York from
September 23, 2003 to January, 4, 2004.
Frédérique TaubenhausBiography
Gouin was born in New York at the end of the 18th
century. Pupil of Regnault and Girodet, he was one of
the fi rst photographers to use the daguerreotype process.
Working with his wife and daugther, who hand-colored
his negatives, from 1849 (date of his inscription in the
parisian business register), he met Bruno Braquehais
towards 1851 and invited him to join his studio (until
1852). From this time to his death in 1855, Gouin
devised a photometer and a machine polishing da-
guerreotype plates. He get a honourable mention at the
London Exhibition and portrayed, among others, Alex-
andre Dumas, Camille Saint-Saens and James Pradier.
With the stereoscopic daguerreotype process, he made
series of female nudes. His contemporaries praised his
photographs for their subtility and quality so that he
was called “The French Claudet.” His daughter married
Braquehais in 1856 and the Braquehais-Gouin’s fi rm
produced colours and images during a decade.
See also: Braquehais, Bruno; Claudet, Antoine-
François-Jean; Daguerreotype; Stereoscopy; and
Nudes.Further Reading
Buerger, Janet E. , French Daguerreotypes, The University of
Chicago Press, Chicago, 1989.
Desaulnier, François, La généalogie des familles Gouin et Allard,
Montréal, 1909.
Grinde, Lene, Romer, Grant B. , Conservation of Sterereoda-
guerreotype: Examination and documentation of the Charac-
teristics, advanced residency program in Photograph, George
Eastman House, International Museum of photography and
fi lm & Image permanence Institute, Rochester Institute of
technology, conservation 3rd cycle, July, 11, 2005.
Nazarieff, Serge, Early erotic photoghraphy, Tashen, 2002.
48/14, La revue du musée d’Orsay, numéro, 15, 2002, 14.
Humprey’s journal, 7, 1855.
La Lumière, June, 29, 1851/ July, 29, 1851/ September, 7, 1851/
October, 29, 1851, February, 24,1855/ March, 5, 1855.