Background
Pierre Petit was born on August 15, 1831, in Aups, Provence-Alpes-Cote d'Azur, France.
Poster for the workshop
The Pierre Petit Trademark
Pierre Petit was born on August 15, 1831, in Aups, Provence-Alpes-Cote d'Azur, France.
Pierre Petit learned photography in Paris in the workshop of André-Adolphe-Eugène Disdéri (1819-1889).
Pierre Petit first began experimenting with the daguerreotype in 1849, and in 1854 traveled to Rome, where he produced paper photographs. He went into partnership with an M. Trinquart in Paris, eventually becoming the sole proprietor of the studio in 1862 and continued operating at the same address throughout the century.
In the 1870s Pierre Petit photographed the siege and burning of Paris, and in 1875 he covered the Universal Exposition and the construction of the Statue of Liberty. By 1875 he was appointed official photographer of the Faculte de Medecine, the Lycees et Ecoles de France, the Societe des Gens de Lettres, the Chemin de Fer du Nord and, in 1876, to the Societe General du Credit Industriel.
In 1880 Pierre Petit received commissions from the Ministere de l'Interieur and the Ministere de l'lnstruction Publique. Experimenting with permanent pigment processes, Petit collaborated with Alphonse Poitevin early in his career to produce carbon prints. He worked with Goupil et Cie, J. Marie, and Lemercier at various times for aquatints, photolithographs, carbon prints, and woodburytypes. One of the first to utilize electric light properly for portraiture, in 1880 he experimented with Liebert on its use. Pierre Petit first began experimenting with the daguerreotype in 1849, and in 1854 traveled to Rome, where he produced paper photographs. He went into partnership with an M. Trinquart in Paris, eventually becoming the sole proprietor of the studio in 1862 and continued operating at the same address throughout the century.
In the 1870s Pierre Petit photographed the siege and burning of Paris, and in 1875 he covered the Universal Exposition and the construction of the Statue of Liberty. By 1875 he was appointed official photographer of the Faculte de Medecine, the Lycees et Ecoles de France, the Societe des Gens de Lettres, the Chemin de Fer du Nord and, in 1876, to the Societe General du Credit Industriel.
In 1880 Pierre Petit received commissions from the Ministere de l'Interieur and the Ministere de l'lnstruction Publique. He was the first to utilize electric light properly for portraiture, in 1880 he experimented with Liebert on its use.
In 1908 he handed over the business to his son.
Quotes from others about the person
According to Janet E. Buerger: "Petit produced magnificent portraits of the men of the day. Unlike his contemporaries, Nadar and Adam Salomon, Petit frequently went to his client's home to produce straightforward portraits. Of all the portraitists of the era, Petit was the most objectively naturalistic. He mastered a straight but controlled and sophisticated vision."
Pierre Lanith Petit was the father of photographer Charles Petit.