A fine early photographer.

Some two decades ago I wrote about Degas not just as one of the greatest painters of the 19th century but also as a fine photographer.

His ‘L’Absinthe’ painting of two denizens of the late night crowd zonked out on the poisonous drink had a significant effect on my seeing:

L’Absinthe, 1876.

When photographing North Beach in 2013 I very much had this painting in mind when I snapped a modern version in The Saloon, one of the oldest buildings in San Francisco and a rare survivor of the 1906 earthquake and fires:

North Beach Absinthe, 1913. Nikon D3x,
35mm f/1.4 Nikkor AF-S.

To learn more of Degas’s photography you can download the catalog of the Met’s 1998 show by clicking the image below, as intensely a photographic painting as you will find:

Degas. Place de la Concorde. Click the image for the catalog.