Eugène Cuvelier

two-plate panorama, salt prints, numbered ‘158’ in the negative, mounted, with a hand-ruled decorative ink border on the mount, 1863; accompanied by an early wood frame with the title carved into the top and bottom face, a paper label inscribed ‘Wilder Bancroft’ in ink affixed to the reverse; with the original 1874 Boston Daily Advertiser newspaper frame backing 

Collection of John Chandler Bancroft

Collection of his son, Wilder Dwight Bancroft

Private collection, New England

Ulrike Gauss, et al., Eugène Cuvelier (Stuttgart, 1996), no. V/5

This remarkable two-plate salt-print panorama, presented here with an early custom-made frame, and originally from the collection of the Bancroft family, is a remarkable surviving example of some of the earliest European photography brought to America. Grading this print on a scale of 1 to 10 – a 10 being a salt print that has rich dark brown tones and highlights that retain their original detail – this print rates a strong 8. While the dark areas are not as deep as seen in some other Cuvelier salt prints, the highlights and mid-tones present a huge array of detail throughout – in the texture of the rocks, lichen, and foliage, and in the carved stone blocks along the sand road in the right portion of the panorama. Given this high level of detail, it seems unlikely that this print has faded to any noticeable degree over the years. Close inspection of the sky shows some very faint discoloration, but this is not immediately apparent. The print has undergone conservation, and a treatment report is available upon request. Some skillful retouching along the seam of the two prints dates to this conservation. The mount is thin stiff board. It is appropriately age-darkened, and shows some minor staining. A one-inch tear on the left edge has been skillfully repaired.
In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective qualified opinion.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING CONDITION OF A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD "AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF SALE PRINTED IN THE CATALOGUE.

The panorama offered here is a recently discovered example of Eugène Cuvelier’s rare work in this format.  Only three panoramas are believed extant within Cuvelier’s oeuvre, including the present image. In her catalogue raisonné of Cuvelier’s work, Ulrike Gauss locates only one previously known example of this image, in the collection of the Bibliothèque Nationale de France. 

Cuvelier made this panorama of Franchard, on the western edge of the forest of Fontainebleau, by carefully joining two prints made from separate negatives onto a mount.  The long horizontal format of the resultant image lends itself to the portrayal of Franchard’s dramatic terrain.  As is characteristic of Cuvelier’s work, this image is a highly detailed rendering of the landscape, from the lichen on the boulders to the hand-hewn cobblestones neatly stacked beside the sand path.  The seamless joining of the two prints, their detail, and their unified tonality, attest to Cuvelier’s mastery of the technical aspects of photography.   

The discovery of this panorama further illuminates the connection between Cuvelier and the American artist, businessman, and collector John Chandler Bancroft.  In 2007, Sotheby’s New York sold 43 photographs by Eugène Cuvelier and his father, Adalbert, which had been discovered in 1989 in a series of antique packing crates bearing Bancroft’s name and address.  While the exact circumstances of Bancroft’s acquisition of these photographs can only be surmised, it was speculated that Bancroft’s interest in art – specifically artists of the Barbizon school – led him to Cuvelier, who lived in Barbizon, photographed in the forest of Fontainebleau, and was a friend to such painters as Camille Corot and Théodore Rousseau. 

The present panorama appeared separately from the group sold at Sotheby’s, and the significance of the inscribed paper label on the reverse of the frame was realized only recently.  This label bears the name of Wilder Dwight Bancroft (1867-1953), the son of John Chandler Bancroft, who was a distinguished chemist and professor at Harvard and Cornell.  While the Sotheby’s group appeared never to have been displayed, this panorama is presented in a custom-carved mahogany frame that is almost certainly American.  Remarkably, the title of the photograph is carved into the frame’s face in Gothic type. Based upon the date of the Boston Daily Advertiser newspaper used as backing, the panorama was likely framed in 1874. 

Cuvelier’s work is typified by a subtle and sensitive rendering of the varied terrain of Fontainebleau.  His compositions are sophisticated and depend for their impact not upon visual drama, but upon his remarkable ability to capture meaningful detail.  The fact that this quietly beautiful French photograph was prepared so carefully for display in this country underscores how much is still to be learned about photography’s place in 19^th-century America.