Professor Butter Beard and Hippolyte Bayard
“When words become unclear, I shall focus on photographs. When images become inadequate, I shall be content with silence.” – Ansel Adams
The mind is a playful animal. Your soul may be contently strolling with your dog-wife on a daffodil-lined path, and then suddenly the mind cycles in like Miss Gulch and spins you off towards a misty “haunted forest” detour. I am experiencing one of these dark journeys this weekend, unannounced and jarring in its force, but thanks to my much-appreciated mentors, I have located a map to route me back to Munchkinland.
My grandmother, in retrospect, wore her mentor medallion with quiet pride and confidence. Always next to her comfy reading chair, sitting among her latest books, knitting projects and one or two coffee cups, was her “box of treasures.” This cardboard box, covered in fading pastel flowers, contained old and new hand-written letters and notes, a couple recipe cards, and her cache of favorite photographs. Watching her, as I pretended to read my latest book assignment, I would witness her journey from troubled to content, with just the slightest nudge from a centering memory triggered by a faded family photograph.
This afternoon, I chose to follow her suggested path. I have my own cardboard “box of treasures” nestled in my art history bookshelves. As I reached out to indulge, my hand was mysteriously guided left to a new book purchase – “Hippolyte Bayard and the Invention of Photography.” I followed the mysterious suggestion and spent the next two hours indulging in the journey of another fellow traveler.
Among the rarest (and latest) holdings in the J. Paul Getty Museum’s Department of Photography is an album of prints by Bayard dating back to the first decade of the medium’s invention. According to Timothy Potts, director of the museum, “Bayard began his experiments with paper photography on January 20th, 1839, and for the next four decades dedicated his life to the advancement of the new art form, integrating the science of chemicals and light with the aesthetic practices of drawing, painting, and printmaking, at the time a revolutionary achievement.” The acquisition of the album, which contains 145 prints by Bayard, along with 60 other works, makes the Getty’s Bayard collection the second largest in the world.
Until recently, Bayard was one of the unsung pioneers of this revolutionary technology and art form that changed people’s perception of the world. For the first time, viewers were able to gaze into a work of art that directly mirrored how their own visions were perceived and processed by the eyes and brain. Yet, from the start, his work was eclipsed by Anna Atkins and her cyanotype recordings of her botanical specimens, his country man Louis-Jacques-Mande Daguerre, best known for his invention of the daguerreotype, and the Englishman William Henry Fox Talbot, credited with the invention of the calotype direct positive on paper.
But it was Bayard who was the first to publicly present photographs at an art exhibition (much to the chagrin of French government who had chosen to sponsor Daguerre) and who ultimately had the longest career of the three. Karen Hellman writes, “Bayard persisted over four decades, continuously experimenting with photographic techniques; displaying his work at universal and industrial expositions; and contributing photographs from his own portrait studio to international publications.”
The Getty collection includes seven self-portraits by Bayard. In five of the self-portraits, he placed himself in garden settings. This was, in part I imagine, a practical decision since natural light was required to create photographs at the time. However, his choice of setting also reflects his passion for plants (much like Anna Atkins). He came from a family of gardeners—his maternal grandfather worked in the extensive grounds of the abbey in Breteuil, the village where Bayard grew up. His father, a justice of the peace, was a passionate amateur gardener who grew peaches in an orchard attached to the family home. The gardens featured in Bayard’s self-portraits are thought to be part of the family property in Breteuil or his own home in Batignolles—an area that was just on the outskirts of Paris.
The gardens become an integral aspect of these portraits; Bayard, the man, merges perfectly with his living environment. In my favorite, he is surrounded by vegetation and is seated in a wooden chair whose arms and legs resemble vine branches. The lower portion of his legs merge into the darkened lower foreground as if he too is rooted in the earth and has astonishingly sprouted from it. He shares the foreground with a tall leafy plant that bursts into abundant blossoms at the top. The artist’s choice of clothing, including his cravat, brimmed cap, as well as his direct gaze, all combine to convey a sense of quiet pride and confidence.
Well, hello there, Grandma Mac! It must have been her gentle mentor whisper that guided my hand towards Bayard’s journey today. And, of course, they then both followed me into the kitchen this afternoon. The resulting baking meditation was this Chicken, Leek and Asparagus Pie - pure grandmotherly comfort food, inspired by the sepia of Bayard’s collection and the abundant bounty of his French gardens. I found myself adding just another stimulating dash of Sriracha with the intent of inspiring my soul to “snap out of it” and to graciously diminish the power of my mind’s detour.
I close today’s journey with another of my favorite Ansel Adams quotes: “You don’t make a photograph just with a camera. You bring to the act of photography all the pictures you have seen, the books you have read, the music you have heard, the people you have loved.”
Professor Butter Beard’s Chicken, Leeks and Asparagus Pie
1 recipe Prof BB’s rich pie pastry (two-crust version)
8 Boneless chicken thighs (skin on), seasoned with salt and freshly-ground black pepper and seasoning of choice (I prefer “Slap Ya Mama” spice mix, but dried thyme or rosemary would also be delicious)
4 Leeks
One bunch fresh asparagus, cut into 2” pieces (for this recipe, I prefer thin stalks)
1 Lemon (zest and juice)
Bechamel:
4 Tbsp unsalted butter
4 Tbsp all-purpose flour
1 cup chicken stock
1 cup whole milk
1 Tbsp Dijon mustard
Hot sauce to taste (I prefer Sriracha)
Salt and pepper to taste
1) Prepare pastry for two crusts. Divide into two disks, wrap in plastic and chill for at least one hour.
2) Cut the whites of the leeks into 1” wheels. Separate the wheels and soak in cold water for 15 minutes in a colander set in a larger bowl of cold water. Swish around the leeks and change the water three times to remove all dirt. Set aside to drain.
3) Roast or pan-sear the chicken thighs until skin is crisp and the meat is just cooked. Save the resulting fat and remove the thighs to a large bowl to cool. When cool, cut the thighs into 1” cubes (retaining the skin).
4) Sauté the drained leeks in the reserved chicken fat until just tender. Remove them with a slotted spoon and add them to the chicken. Then sauté the asparagus in the same fat until just tender and add them to the chicken. Add the zest and juice of a lemon and then season the entire mixture with salt and pepper.
5) Preheat your oven to 425 degrees.
6) For the bechamel: In a heavy saucepan, heat the butter until it stops sizzling. Add the flour and whisk for one minute to cook the flour. Add the two liquids, maintaining the heat on medium, and whisk until the mixture comes to a light boil and has thickened. Remove from the heat and whisk in the Dijon, hot sauce (to taste) and add salt and freshly ground black pepper (to taste).
7) Roll out the bottom crust and use it to line your chosen pie plate. Roll out the top crust. Pour half the bechamel into the chicken mixture and fold together. Add this mixture to the pie shell. Pour the remaining bechamel over the top of the filling. Place the top crust on the pie and crimp to seal. Cut a 1” round hole in the center of the top crust so the steam can escape. Brush the top with an egg wash (if desired). Bake the pie on the middle rack for 15 minutes, then reduce the temperature to 375 degrees and bake for another 35-40 minutes until the top crust is deliciously brown and the filling is bubbling through the steam hole.
