3-044-968 - Heritage Art/Heritage Images

Portrait of Victor Cousin, 1854-1859. Additional Info: A popular, influential professor and lecturer and later a reforming government minister, the distinguished philosopher must be considered one of Le Gray's most eminent sitters. Cousin was well into his sixties when this photograph was made, and his somewhat disheveled appearance advertises his status as an elderly bachelor. His clothing is wrinkled, and patterned fabric untidily extrudes between his vest and trousers. The hand tucked dramatically into his vest hides the lens of his monocle, with the cord barely visible underneath.