The Cleveland Museum of Art
Collection Online as of December 19, 2025
Fish Porters
late 1890s
(French, 1873–1929)
Paper: 17.6 x 12.8 cm (6 15/16 x 5 1/16 in.); Matted: 45.7 x 35.6 cm (18 x 14 in.)
John L. Severance Fund 1999.108
Location: Not on view
Description
Little is known about Géniaux, who was active from the 1890s through the 1920s as a commercial photographer. Clearly a practitioner with a trained eye, he created this engaging portrait of two fish porters dressed in traditional work clothes complete with leather arm guards and metal identification badges. He positioned the men with their fish containers in front of a mounted sign listing the tariffs on goods sold in the Paris Central Market. Géniaux's examinations of the city's laborers were soon expanded by Eugène Atget (1856-1927), who methodically photographed the city and its inhabitants.- The Cleveland Museum of Art, “Cheating Death: Portrait Photography’s First Half Century” (10/22/2016-2/5/2017)19th-Century French Portrait Photography from the Cleveland Museum of Art. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (May 27-August 9, 2000).Cleveland, Ohio: The Cleveland Museum of Art; 5/27/00 - 8/9/00. "19th-Century French Portrait Photography from the Cleveland Museum of Art."
- {{cite web|title=Fish Porters|url=false|author=Paul Géniaux|year=late 1890s|access-date=19 December 2025|publisher=Cleveland Museum of Art}}
Source URL:
https://www.clevelandart.org/art/1999.108