Félix NadarFrench, 1820–1910Hermaphrodite
Can I see it?
Not on view at present
Where is “Hermaphrodite” now? Collection: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York. Not on view at present. Checked November 11, 2026.
New York, United States
It belongs to the collection, but is not on display at present.
- Checked
- In this state since
- Source
- The museum
Details
- Accession number
- 2010.457.1
What it shows
In the catalog
Sources
- The Metropolitan Museum of Art
- Image: The Metropolitan Museum of Art — Open Access (CC0)
In the life of Félix Nadar
The whole life1858
The world’s first aerial photographs
He became the first person to take aerial photographs, using the wet-plate collodion process: the plates had to be prepared and developed in the basket while aloft, and escaping gas ruined the images until Nadar invented a gas-proof cotton cover for his baskets. He also pioneered the use of artificial light in photography, working underground in the catacombs of Paris.
1858
A patent for photography from a balloon
In 1858 he patented the idea of photographing from a balloon, which he himself put into practice by photographing Paris.
1860
A studio at 35 Boulevard des Capucines
In 1860 Nadar moved to 35 Boulevard des Capucines, where he photographed politicians (Guizot, Proudhon), stage actors (Sarah Bernhardt, Paulus), writers (Hugo, Baudelaire, Sand, Nerval, Gautier, Dumas), painters (Corot, Delacroix, Millet) and musicians (Liszt, Rossini, Offenbach, Verdi, Berlioz). In the studio he eschewed traditional sumptuous decors and unnecessary accessories and preferred natural daylight.
1862
An aeronautical society with Jules Verne
In 1862 he and Jules Verne established a Société pour la recherche de la navigation aérienne, which later became the Society for the Encouragement of Aerial Locomotion by Means of Heavier than Air Machines; Nadar served as president and Verne as secretary.
