Photosculpture. The 19th Century 3D

The studio Willème built in 1863 was a large circular enclosure with a huge glass dome. The walls had twenty-four equally spaced openings with sculptures supported by consoles concealing twenty-four cameras. When the consoles were moved aside, the cameras in the outer ring, pointing towards the centre where the subject stood or sat beneath a plumb line, took pictures simultaneously.  

To compose the three-dimensional image he used a magic lantern – an optical device that was a forerunner of the cinematograph – with an internal light source. By means of a system of lenses and mirrors, he sequentially projected the enlarged silhouettes onto a translucent screen. On the other side of the screen an operator traced each profile with a pantograph, a mechanical device used to copy images with an articulated arm to which a cutter was attached. A cylindrical block of clay or wood on a rotating support was placed in front of the operator. The pantograph transferred and cut the profiles out of the block one by one with the same movement, producing a rough clay sculpture incorporating all twenty-four silhouettes. This had to be reworked by the sculptor, who smoothed the small gaps between the profiles and softened the rough edges of the cuttings. 
The portrait could be completed in two to four days. The downside was its high cost: between 270 and 500 francs, which ultimately made it unviable.
Willème presented his invention to the Société Française de Photographie, where it was nonetheless greeted with scepticism. However, the specialised press reported on it positively.

In 1863 he founded the limited company Société Générale de Photosculpture de France – Willème, de Marnyhac et Cie together with the dealer and artist Charles de Marnyhac (1838–1897), who supported him and managed the company.

The 1867 Universal Exposition brought worldwide fame to this process, which was presented in a specially designed pavilion. Despite the recognition it gained, the following year, in 1868, Willème stopped making photosculptures and the Societé Génerale de Photosculpture was dissolved.

On 9 April 1863 this technique was patented in Madrid, where its name was transcribed as ‘Willeine’. 
Juan Laurent, photographer to Queen Isabella II, brought Willème, the inventor of photosculpture, to Madrid to produce a series of different-sized profiles, busts and full-length figures of many members of the Spanish royal family. 
A photographic studio was built for this purpose in the Royal Palace of Madrid based on the one designed by Willème in Paris but on a smaller scale.  The negatives obtained from the photographs taken were sent to Marnyhac in Paris, where the sculptures were made.
An extant photograph shows the king consort Francisco de Asís posing for his full-length photosculpture. He is standing on a wooden platform divided by radial lines corresponding to each camera lens.
Willème was awarded the Order of Charles III for this work.

Patrimonio Nacional owns the world’s largest and most important collection of photosculptures consisting of thirty-four pieces (thirty-nine if the figures in the royal family group are counted individually). Most of them represent members of Queen Isabella II’s family. They are joined by other figures from the period, such as the Duke of Morny, the Marquis of Osmond and a bust of an unknown person. The palace archives hold several documents dated between 1866 and 1867 relating to payments for these photosculptures.
Willème’s arrival in Madrid naturally attracted the attention of the Spanish aristocracy, who also wished to acquire pieces of this kind. Several examples can currently be found in other private Spanish collections and in public institutions such as the Museo Cerralbo.

The group portrait of the Spanish royal family is the largest and most important photosculpture produced. It recreates the dais in the throne room of the Royal Palace with its four lions, symbols of the exaltation of royal power. 

Queen Isabella II presides over the scene together with the Prince of Asturias, the future Alfonso XII, accompanied by the king consort and three of their daughters, the infantas Isabel, Pilar and Eulalia.

This ensemble was created by means of an electrochemical process. Copper was coated with silver using the electroplating technique, which involves covering the object’s surface with a thin layer of the chosen noble metal to achieve exceptional quality at a lower cost.
In addition, the French silverware company Christofle made a special collaboration on three busts of Isabella II, Francisco de Asís and the future Alfonso XII, executed in patinated, electroplated copper. 
One of the most remarkable features of photosculpture is its ability to reflect reality and the slightest details of the subjects’ faces as well as their clothing and adornments. This accuracy has made it possible to recognise and identify jewellery, medals and decorations worn by Queen Isabella II.

As is customary in her official portraits, Queen Isabella II wears a crown on her head. Although in Spain kings and queens are not actually crowned but proclaimed and are therefore not shown sporting crowns, this adornment enabled the queen to enhance her legitimacy and sovereignty. The piece in question – missing from the sculptural group and the freestanding figure – is a model reproducing several fleurs-de-lis. It was first depicted in a portrait by Federico de Madrazo in 1848. In addition to Jean Laurent, Pedro Martínez de Hebert and Franck photographed the queen sporting the same crown. She wore it often because the fleurs-de-lis adorning it are the emblem of the House of Bourbon.

The long earrings, also known as arracadas or zarcillos, reproduce a ‘lantern’ model that is rarely found in surviving portraits.
Around the queen’s neck are two necklaces, one of pearls and the other of large mounted diamonds.

The queen’s most significant piece of jewellery is a butterfly-shaped brooch inherited from her mother, Queen María Cristina of Bourbon. It can be seen in Valentín Carderera’s portrait of María Cristina.

Attention began to be paid to bracelets during this period. Different models were worn and ladies could sport several on each arm. They were usually made of gold or silver in the form of a rigid band or several articulated parts. They were fastened with large brooches embellished with precious stones and enamel. Sometimes medallions or lockets were attached to them.

The clasp on her shoulder, essential for fastening sashes and decorations, completes the queen’s jewellery.

The Infanta Isabel also wears a heart-shaped pendant, a traditional piece of jewellery in her attire.

The photographer Antoine-François Claudet (1797–1867) disseminated this technique in Great Britain, becoming artistic director of Willème’s company, Société Générale de Photosculpture. In 1864 this technique was patented in the United States, where Hutson and Kurtz founded a photosculpture society in New York in 1866.

In Paris, Willème received commissions from many people in the world of culture. They are housed in various public institutions, including the Musée des Arts Décoratifs and Musée Carnavalet, in Paris and the Musées de Senlis. 

His work can also be found in Swiss and German collections and in the United States, both at the LACMA in Los Angeles and, primarily, at the Georges Einstman Museum in New York and the Iris & B. Gerarld Cantor Center for Visual Arts at Stanford University. The latter institution has twelve photosculptures, eleven of which were acquired from the descendants of Gerard Levy in Paris, who rediscovered photosculpture and began collecting it in the 1980s.

Bibliografía básica sobre fotoescultura