Constant Alexandre Famin
(Constant Alexandre Famin: Trees in the Forest of Fountainebleau)
Constant Alexandre Famin (France, 1827–1888)
Trees in the Forest of Fountainebleau. c. 1865
Albumen print
7 1/2 x 10 in. image size
Henry Art Gallery, Joseph and Elaine Monsen Photography Collection, gift of Joseph and Elaine Monsen and The Boeing Company, 97.233
French photographer Constant Alexandre Famin’s albumen prints first appeared in 1863. His images of peasant folk, woodlands, children, and animals are widely considered to be particularly sensitive and delicate examples of landscape photography of the time. Famin was one of the second generation of photographers attracted to Fountainebleau and its environs. By the time Famin arrived, the forest, popularized through tourism and art, was at risk for overdevelopment.