Of whom is the oldest documented actual picture of a living person in history ?

Priscilla9

You mean photograph? http://www.hypocrites.com/article4209.html This site describes how "the earliest recorded image taken by photographic means" was sold in Paris in 2002. It was a 1825 print by French inventor Joseph Nicephore Niepce, which shows a man leading a horse. Mar 26 06, 11:21 AM

lanfranco

It could be the work described here, a portrait of the painter Nicholas Huet, made by Daguerre in 1837. There has been some dispute about it, though, and I don't whether it's been resolved. In general, the oldest photograph is considered to be Niepce's "View from a Window at Le Gras" (1826), about which I posted a question recently. However, the 1825 image of the print certainly used, as Priscilla's site says," "photographic means" and ought to count. http://www.etudes.photographie.com/presse/1198-photcoll.html Mar 26 06, 12:06 PM

lanfranco

The Huet picture appears on this site. Scroll down to "The Earliest Portrait?" http://www.kameraklub.co.za/historic.htm Mar 26 06, 12:12 PM

gmackematix

Are we assuming the questioner meant "photograph" because the earliest known "picture" of a known historical person is harder to find? :) Mar 26 06, 3:51 PM

lanfranco

Well, I did think about other varieties of depiction. If a photograph is not what ajilka is seeking, then a coin portrait would probably be the best bet. Here's a reference to one that is supposedly the oldest and that dates to about 480 B.C., of Hiero, a ruler of Syracuse. (I'm not confident of this site.) Of course, if the Great Sphinx is a portrait, it might qualify. It has a few problems with documentation, though. http://www.biblepicturegallery.com/pictures/Italy/Coin%20of%20Syracuse%20with%20King%20Hiero%20480%20BC%20-%20the%20old%20la.htm Mar 26 06, 4:26 PM

davejacobs

I would think that there are a great many ancient Egyptian portraits of pharoahs on tomb walls and papyrus, but as to which might be the oldest I'll leave to someone more expert. Mar 26 06, 4:35 PM

peasypod

I don't see the word 'photograph' anywhere in the question. I also don't see anything that refers to a historical person, just a living one. (as opposed to a picture of a deceased one, perhaps?) Now, there's probably a plethora of portraits painted (as Frankie would be able to provide) so I'll start the ball rolling with a portrait of Dante dated about 1390. Then there are portraits of people on currency dating back 2500 years...and then there are those Egyptians who loved to sit for carvings. ;) http://dsc.discovery.com/news/briefs/20050307/dante.html Mar 26 06, 4:37 PM

peasypod

How did you guys sneak in so fast?! Mar 26 06, 4:38 PM

lanfranco

There are, of course, many, many ancient portraits of one sort or another, but the word "documented" in the question requires caution. However, the Palette of Narmer might do -- ca. 3,000 BCE: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Narmer_Palette Mar 26 06, 4:51 PM

robboy

Don't you reckon there's a cave painting around that depicts Og in an early version of The Life of Riley, like this one from the cave of Lascaux? http://homepage.ntlworld.com/m.hurley/wandjina2.jpg Mar 26 06, 7:05 PM

lanfranco

Fabulous, robboy. Now, where's the paperwork? Mar 26 06, 7:27 PM

davejacobs

This question has so many qualifications, doesn't it? I wonder exactly what kind of documentation would count. A caption perhaps, or does it need a review by a critic? Mar 27 06, 1:15 AM