123
will never attain. Nothing could be more charming that
these little forms bathed in elusive half-light, like the
chiaroscuro of nature. Art must resign itself in compari-
sons such as these to remain ever inferior to reality”
(Gautrand, 1986, 24).
Despite the great interest these photographs pro-
voked, Bayard did not offi cially present his invention
in an institutional setting until several months after the
publication of Daguerre’s process for making direct
positives on metal. On November 2, the architect Désiré
Raoul-Rochette presented a report on Bayard’s invention
to the Académie des Beaux-Arts praising Bayard’s in-
vention on both practical and artistic grounds. Rochette
noted that unlike the daguerreotype, Bayard’s process
enabled the papers to be prepared up to a month ahead
of time, thus reducing the equipment needed to make
an exposure. More signifi cantly, the report found that
Bayard’s process possessed artistic advantages over the
daguerreotype, for the paper support yielded a vague-
ness of contour and rich harmony of warm tones that
suggested an artistic sensibility and recalled the sfumato
of old master drawings. Writing in 1851, the critic
Francis Wey would reiterate Rochette’s praise, recalling
that when he fi rst saw the photographs in 1839 “they
resembled nothing I had seen....One contemplates these
direct positives as if through a fi ne curtain of mist. Very
fi nished and accomplished, they unite the impressionism
of reality with the fantasy of dreams: light grazes and
shadow caresses them” (Gautrand, 1986, 24–5).
Despite the acclaim surrounding the exhibition and
the support of the Academy of Fine Arts, Bayard failed
to receive recognition he desired for his inventions, nor
did he achieve the level of state support that was awarded
to Daguerre. As a reaction to the injustices he felt he had
suffered, Bayard created witty, enigmatic photograph of
an inert man entitled Self Portrait as a Drowned Man.
Bayard inscribed the back of this self-portrait with the
following narrative
“The corpse which you see here is that of M. Bayard,
inventor of the process that has just been shown to you.
As far as I know, this indefatigable experimenter has been
occupied for about three years with perfecting his discov-
ery.... All those who have seen his pictures admired them
as you do at this very moment, although he considersBAYARD, HIPPOLYTE
Bayard, Hippolyte. In the Studio of Bayard.
The J. Paul Getty Museum, Los Angeles © The
J. Paul Getty Museum.