top of page

Athanase Clouzard

It is unclear where Jacques Joseph Athanase Clouzard (1820-1903) was born or died. 

​

Clouzard was a "painter on glass" since at least 1844. After photography on glass was discovered by Niepce de Saint Victor, Clouzard searched for a way to apply color to such photographs. On 11th of November 1851, Athanase Clouzard, Louis This, Alfred Sarrault and several others formed a company called "Sarrault et Cie" which worked on developing their own methods of painting over photographs on glass in a way similar to that of Charles Soulier.

​

In August of 1853 Sarrault leaves the company and the partners are joined by Charles Soulier. At the same time the firm is renamed "This, Soulier, Clouzard et Cie". At the same time, In August of that year, the company files for a patent describing a method of painting over stereoscopic images.

​

In 1854 Soulier and Clouzard form a separate company from This and launch a business of taking and selling their own stereoviews. (The original business was sold to a German firm Bernard, Voigt et Cie. in 1856.)

​

One of their major innovations was to develop a method of manufacturing of glass stereoviews that contained just two pieces of glass. This made such stereoviews both cheaper and lighter. All major glass stereoview makers followed this method ever since.

​

The company of Soulier and Clouzard was one of the main competitor of Claude-Marie Ferrier in the making of stereoscopic photographs on glass. Already in 1854 they started supplying Dubosq.

​

In 1855 Soulier and Clouzard participate in the International Exhibition in Paris and receive a second class medal for their work. In 1857 the firm receives a medal at the art exhibition in Brussels.

​

By 1859 the firm had more than 700 views of France, Germany, Austria, and Spain.

​

On the 9th of June, 1859 Clouzard sells his part of the company and the rights to the whole collection of stereoviews to Soulier.

​

Clouzard continues to work in photography. In 1860 his former partner, Soulier, sues him in court charging that Clouzard took a shot of Prague that was too similar to the photograph from their old collection. Since Clouzard sold his rights to all previous images, Soulier stated, it was not appropriate for Clouzard to sell a view so similar. In an important decision the court rejected the charges of Soulier and stated that photographers are at will to take any shots of public buildings without paying a tribute to whichever photographer discovered this point of view earlier.

​

bottom of page