Hippolyte Baraduc

Hippolyte Ferdinand Baraduc (Hyères, Var, France, November 15, 1850 – Paris, France, May 1, 1909) was a French physician and parapsychologist, highly known for his depiction of thoughts and feelings using iconography.

Hippolyte Baraduc

Mesmerism

In his research, Hippolyte Baraduc ended up delving into topics on animal magnetism following the studies of Carl Reichenbach, mentioning in his 1895 thesis the difference between fluids: cosmic, vital and magnetic,^[1] all cataloged and examined in his works.^[2]

Fluidic photography

Baraduc believed it was possible to photograph human mental states or emotions, such as grief and mourning, as well as the human soul. In his 1896 book The Human Soul (L’Âme humaine), Baraduc published photographs referred to as "psychicones", or images of the soul, that he claimed were created by a "psycho-odic-fluidic-current" interacting with the photographic plates.^[3] Baraduc's claims to have photographed the human soul were also made in a paper read before the Society of Psychic Sciences in Paris.

Bibliography

• Georges Didi-Huberman, Jean-Martin Charcot, Invention de l'hystérie : Charcot et l'iconographie photographique de la Salpêtrière, Editions Macula; Édition : 5^e (2012), Coll. Macula scènes
• Marina Warner Phantasmagoria: Spirit Visions, 2008 ISBN 0199239231