Taken in 1860 or ’61 this photo was taken by a French photographer called Nadar. Who incidentally was the first person to take aerial photographs (likely from a hot air balloon, he was a balloonist).
Why We Like It
For a photo taken in the late 19th century it’s a pretty good one. Nadar’s portraits live in the national collections of many countries. The subject of this portrait is unknown, but the photograph is very well taken. They were carefully positioned in front of a painted backdrop and were able to remain still enough to get a really crisp shot. It’s better than many photos taken even years later and the horse is clearer than his rider. Nadar knew his stuff.