At the opposite end of the spectrum, photography bore witness to trends that would materialize later in avant-garde painting. In 1855, Baldus photographed the railway station at Enghien, near Paris. The Impressionists later composed their own views of railroad stations with the same emphasis on the harshness of linear rigidity. But, concealed under the sketchy brushwork and the light effect, the similarity in composition is barely noticed. It may never be possible to determine how much is due to the influence of one medium on the other, and how much to the broader aesthetic perception of a whole society.
Portraiture suggests that the latter was the more important factor.
The Met owns a portrait of Gioacchino Rossini by Nadar. Seen three quarters, his hand tucked into his double-breasted riding coat, one eyebrow raised in withering irony, the composer seems to be sitting for a painter. One is reminded of some portraits done by Ingres. Painter and photographer alike recorded the body language of a certain period and responded to it in similar fashion. Greater autonomy led to the greatest masterpieces.