Nadar was the pseudonym of Gaspard-F矇lix Tournachon (April 6, 1820 - March 23, 1910), a French photographer, caricaturist, journalist, novelist, and balloonist. He took his first photographs in 1853 and in 1858 became the first person to take aerial photographs. He also pioneered the use of artificial lighting in photography, working in the catacombs of Paris. Around 1863, Nadar built a balloon named Le G矇ant. Although the G矇ant project was initially unsuccessful he was still convinced that the future belonged to heavier-than-air machines. He was also the inspiration for the character of Michael Ardan in Verne's From the Earth to the Moon. In 1874, he lent his photo studio to a group of painters, thus making the first exhibition of the Impressionists possible. He photographed Victor Hugo on his death bed in 1885. He is credited with having published (in 1886) the first photo interview (with chemist Michel Eug癡ne Chevreul), and also took erotic photographs. He died in 1910 at the age of 89.