Elisabeth Francart, “Madame Disdéri”, una pionera de la fotografía borrada por la historia (y por un raspador)

Eclipsed by the fame of her husband, Elisabeth Francart, Mme Disdéri (c.1818-1878), is best known for her work as a photographer in the town of Brest (Brittany) from 1850 onwards. In addition to her importance as a pioneering woman who ran several photographic studios bearing her name, this research now brings to light her intense and unpublished activity as a partner, administrator and photographer at Disdéri & Cie, the famous establishment opened by her husband André in Paris in the years of the implementation and triumph of the cartes de visite. This important participation, which presents the photographer as co-responsible for the success of the revolutionary format, has been overlooked by history, while the merits of her husband –from whom she was separated– have been magnified. In the same vein, Mme Disdéri’s name was even methodically scraped from the cartes de visite that recognised the authorship of her work.