Eugène Cuvelier

b. 1837 — d. 1900

Eugène Cuvelier French, 1837 - 1900 A painter and photographer in Arras, Eugène Cuvelier focused on the natural landscape of Fontainebleau and its environs. His father, Adalbert, who also painted and photographed, taught Jean-Baptiste-Camille Corot the process of cliché-verre, an early printmaking process based on sensitivity to light. The works of the father and son are often difficult to distinguish. Eugène expanded the link between photography and painting, producing a substantial series of calotypes of natural subjects in the style of the Barbizon School. A member of the Société française de photographie, he continued to use paper negatives at a late date, preferring their soft aesthetic result that suggested painting. The Cuveliers were also members of the Barbizon artistic community: At the wedding of Eugène to Louise Ganne, daughter of the celebrated innkeeper, Jean-François Millet and Théodore Rousseau took on the task of decoration and Corot served as best man. Today, Cuvelier's works are treasured for their direct portrayal of nature and the delicacy with which photography was adapted to the task. T.W.F.