Qui êtes-vous Monsieur?
Three of these portraits are instantly recognisable as genuine portraits of M. Héger. Top-left is a detail from a CDV of a mystery Victorian gentleman I found on-line for sale——who looks remarkably like M. Héger – Emily and Charlotte Brontë’s Belgium school teacher. . .
To read about the Brontë Sister’s time at the Pensionnat Héger in Brussels (1842 – 1843) please follow the ‘Brussels Brontë Group’ link immediately below——as the intention of this post is specifically to compare the physical likenesses between the mystery gentleman in the CDV and known portraits of M Héger. . .
https://www.thebrusselsbrontegroup.org/the-brontes-in-brussels/heger/
The CDV is an early one; with square corners and a plain back – it dates from the late 1850’s, 1860’s to early 1870’s. Come the early 1870’s, CDV’s were printed on thicker card and corners changed from square to rounded. M Héger was born in 1809. This means that the mystery gentleman is aged between 50 and early 60’s——which fits with Frederika MacDonald’s description of Constantin Georges Romain Héger. . .
Frederika MacDonald, herself a pupil at the Pensionnat Héger——writes this of M. Héger’s appearance in 1859. . .
Excerpt from ‘The Secret World of Charlotte Brontë’ by Frederika MacDonald——published 1914.
My immediate reaction to this photograph was “Ooh la la! it is Charlotte’s Monsieur Heger!” And just like that, I bought the CDV to add to my small collection of portraits. He’s certainly got a look of “Mr Punch” and he is “inclining towards stoutness”!
One of Monsieur Héger’s most distinguishing features is that one of his eyebrows is scarred; as one looks at these photographs——it’s the eyebrow on the left, M Heger’s right brow. . .
The scar is especially noticeable between this pair of photographs; it looks like half the same eyebrow is missing in both. . .
M Héger also appears to have a few lumps and bumps on his chin (scars) as does the mystery gentleman in the CDV. . .
By the scars on his chinny chin chin! This image can be enlarged in a new window simply by clicking on it!
And just maybe ‘Monsieur Héger’ has Charlotte Bronté’s ‘Jane Eyre’ or ‘The Professor’ —— or ‘Villette’ in his hand. . .
Please read my previous post about another found CDV——that has a Brontë connection. . .
The Bronte Sisters they are NOT! They are the same three women posing as the Bronte Sisters in the well-known and much-talked about ‘Daguerreotype’.
Bonnet, Cloak and Daguerreotype! Another Brontë Mystery Solved By Yours Truly.