An unpublished photo of Rimbaud? An expert seeks to convince of its authenticity

A French expert in old photography thinks he has unearthed a previously unpublished photograph of the poet Arthur Rimbaud, who was apparently immortalized at the age of 21, but his demonstration is currently struggling to convince other specialists. This full-length portrait is presented by Serge Plantureux, who published his investigation in his magazine, Nicéphore, notebook of photographs. “I think this photo is worth devoting several months of my life to it because there aren't many that look like Rimbaud. And there, it’s him, or it’s a double,” he told AFP.

Notably a legal expert at the Paris Court of Appeal, Serge Plantureux continues his investigation. He is known for having claimed in 2015 that he had discovered the painter Vincent Van Gogh in a photo taken in Paris in 1887. Other specialists, in particular those from the Van Gogh Museum in Amsterdam, had not followed. An auction in Brussels had failed. And the photo, ultimately purchased by a New York collector, remains little known.

Arthur Rimbaud (1854-1891) was photographed more often than Van Gogh. Communicating in his hometown of Charleville in 1866, twice in Paris in 1871, and three times in Harar, Ethiopia in 1883.

Another photo known as the “table corner in Aden” in Yemen, with a man resembling the poet and dated 1880, already gave rise to a battle of experts in 2010. Today, the balance tilts to say that this is not Rimbaud.

This time, the portrait - purchased by a French woman among a dozen others of the same type, representing unknown people - was taken in the 1870s by a Viennese photographer, Ignaz Hofbauer. According to Serge Plantureux, it dates from March 1876. To shed light on this hitherto poorly known episode, he found a Viennese daily newspaper from February 29, 1876 which recounts that a certain Arthur Rimbaud was robbed of a considerable sum, 500 gold francs. The turbulent Frenchman, whose journey to the Orient ends there, will stay to do odd jobs and find his thieves. But at the end of April, he was taken back to the border, and had to return to Charleville.

The young man is dressed elegantly in the portrait. This, in the customs of the time, serves as a business card for anyone looking to do business or get hired. But how can we prove that it is Rimbaud?

At first glance, the look seems different from that of the poet. For a simple reason, according to Serge Plantureux: if Rimbaud had blue eyes, the negative was retouched so that he had dark eyes. According to him, everything matches. The length of the hair, compared to a funeral in December 1875 where he appeared shaved head. The height (Rimbaud measured 1.80 m), comparing it with that of the furniture. The shape of the skull, the ears, the stature, the length of the arms, the elements of the face: forehead, nose, mouth, eyebrows...

“I am not entirely convinced by the demonstration and I have expressed my skepticism,” replies Hugues Fontaine, photographer specializing in photos of Rimbaud, and taken by Rimbaud. “Serge Plantureux brings together a lot of very interesting elements. But the evidence is missing. Physical resemblances, however carefully aligned, need to be cross-referenced with evidence of another nature,” he adds.

Contacted by AFP, the Rimbaud museum in Charleville, which holds two photos of the poet, indicated that it had not been contacted by Serge Plantureux. The National Library of France was not either.