Victor Hugo in Jersey

Artist Auguste Edmond Vacquerie (French, 1819 - 1895)

Artist Charles Mélanie Abel Hugo (French, 1826 - 1871)

CultureFrench

Date1853

MediumSalted paper print from waxed paper negative

DimensionsOverall, Image: 3 15/16 × 3 1/4 in. (10 × 8.2 cm)
Overall: 9 13/16 × 7 1/4 in. (24.9 × 18.4 cm)
Overall, Mat: 20 1/16 × 16 in. (51 × 40.6 cm)
Overall, Frame (estimated): 21 1/4 × 17 1/4 × 1 1/4 in. (54 × 43.8 × 3.2 cm)

InscribedTitle in pencil on the mount below the image: "Victor Hugo" and the number "22" is written on the lower right corner of the mount.

Credit LineIn memory of Virgilia (Jill) Pifer Childress, purchase funded by contributions from her friends

Object number98.17

On View

Chrysler Museum of Art, Gallery 228

DescriptionThis is a half-lenth seated portrait of the author Victor-Marie Hugo; he is posed against a stone or brick wall.

Label TextAuguste Edmond Vacquerie French, 1819–1895 Charles Mélanie Abel Hugo French, 1826–1871 Victor Hugo in Jersey, 1853 Salted paper print from paper negative After Louis-Napoléon Bonaparte staged his coup d’état on December 2, 1851, Victor Hugo, the esteemed writer and a staunch defender of the Republic, decamped to Brussels before settling on the island of Jersey between 1852 and 1855. Hugo appreciated photography as a way to popularize his publications and amuse his family and visiting political sympathizers. In this outdoor portrait, a rugged Hugo assumes a favored contemplative pose against rustic stonework that suggests the trials of exile. In memory of Virgilia (Jill) Pifer Childress, purchase funded by contributions from her friends 98.17Exhibition History"New Frames of Reference: Early French Photographers at Home and Abroad," Chrysler Museum of Art, Norfolk, Va, gallery 228, September 5, 2024 - February 16, 2025. "20/20: Fashion in Photography," The Alice R. and Sol B. Frank Photography Galleries, Chrysler Museum of Art, Norfolk, VA, September 23, 1999 - January 2, 2000. "History of Photography," Alice R. and Sol B. Frank Photography Galleries, Chrysler Museum of Art, Norfolk, Va, Fall, 2001. "Silver Images: The Photography Collection at 25," Alice R. and Sol B. Frank Photo Galleries, Chrysler Museum of Art, Norfolk, Va., November 5, 2003 - August 2004.