Portraits and Landscapes in Nineteenth Century Photography brings together for the first time the most important Madrid collections of Nineteenth century photography. The collection is being presented to coincide with PhotoEspaña 2001 and its goal is to acquaint visitors with the pioneers in photography and with the main techniques and genres of this period. It does so through more than five hundred-forty original photos from the five continents.

The collection is based on a study done on nineteenth century photography. It presents nearly all the techniques and supports for portrait and landscape: daguerreotypes, ferrotypes, opaline glass, microphotographs, albumin prints, salt prints, panotypes, travel albums and calling card albums. In the words of its organizer, Juan Carlos Rubio, "this exhibit is absolutely essential for understanding nineteenth century photography." The exhibit is to be presented today in Madrid at a press conference with specialist journalists. Speakers will be Juan Carlos Rubio Aragonés, exhibit organizer, and Roberto Velázquez, general manager of la Fundación Telefónica. HISTORICAL AND DOCUMENTARY VALUE The goal of this exhibit is to present publicly the first exhaustive collection of the main photographic genres of the nineteenth century, and in so doing, help to educate its visitors about a period so essential in photography – from 1840 through 1900- a time when art and technology converged amidst a mass culture. This time frame begins with the invention of the daguerreotype in 1838 and then, towards the final decade of the nineteenth century, culminates in a fully developed documentary photography, landscape photography and architectural photography. The enormous historical and documentary value behind the more than five hundred photographs in this collection make it one of the most important artistic events of the year. In fact, the exhibit displays more than fifty original pieces belonging to the primitive stage of photography. A unique trip through the private collections housed in Madrid brings the visitor in contact with the work of internationally renowned photographers: Fenton, Disderi, Nadar, Sommer, G. Washington Wilson, J. Valentine, Mayer and Pierson, Frith, Naya, Fredricks, Sébah, Laurent, Clifford, Moliné and Albareda, Zangaki, Bonfils, Fiorillo, Thompson, Kimei, Silva, Caneva, and others. On display are daguerreotypes, ambrotypes, ferrotypes, travel albums, calling cards, colored photography, illustrated books, albumin prints, stereoscopic views, microphotography, etc. The two genres in this exhibit, portraits and landscapes, represent a return to the past and the tourist travels of those days, the military expeditions, and those for botanical and architectural purposes . The idea is to offer a view of some of the historical aspects of photography, which include the following: tourism, the family album, calling cards with portraits of on them, (celebrities and pets even), the competition between photography and the old art of painting, and the relationship of nineteenth century photographers with their subjects. In addition, the educational workshop introduces the visitor to the fascinating world of photography at its primitive stage. TEXTS: ART AND PHOTOGRAPHIC GENRES With the arrival of photography, the artist’s attempt to reproduce nature is made scientific. In fact, the debate over the artistic value of photography was a heated one. The first daguerreotypes seemed like they were going to revolutionize the art sphere. Then the daguerreotype began to diversify into other subcategories such as portraits of children and pets, scientific still lifes, ethnography, the utensils of various peoples throughout the world or scenes of interior furnishings. The two fundamental genres that were worked on through these seventy years are represented exhaustively, from the small calling cards to luxurious decorated albums. In this exhibit the larger public discovers the existence of private collecting in Madrid, and for this occasion pictures never before seen are being revealed. FROM "DRAWINGS OF LIGHT" TO THE DAGUERREOTYPE The basis and origin of the photograph can be found in the merging of the new findings in chemistry and optics in the nineteenth century. The finding was christened with the name of "drawings of light". Its inventors were the lithographer Nicéphore Niépce and the set designer Louis Jacques-Mandé Daguerre, partners as of 1829. Daguerre improved upon the method until in 1838, when, with the help of Arago, an influential member of the French parliment, he finally received public recognition of the invention. The daguerreotype was introduced the same year as its presentation in Paris, in 1839. THE CALLING CARD, A SOCIAL REVOLUTION The arrival of the calling card resulted in a loss of public interest in the daguerreotypes and a democratization of photography, spreading it among the bourgeois and moneyed classes. The first time it appeared was in 1862, as carte-de-viste by Disdéri, whose Parisian studio was already a veritable temple for calling cards with portraits. The calling card marked an important step in the history of photography, since it spread quickly into the middle classes, who used it as a means of communication, social cohesion and political propaganda. It was also commonly used by the royalty to make certain events widely known. Nineteenth-century man’s striving for self-affirmation and self-awareness is made most clearly evident in portraits. The dramatization of attitudes began to invade daily life. The technique of retouching photographs became an imperative tied to capturing the pose: touch-ups softened the facial features, making them seem nicer. The photographic laboratory became a studio-theater, a temple of scenes. The calling card evolved into the "cabinet" format and remained in vogue until the end of the century, at which time the post card was first introduced. Along these same lines of acting or dramatization we may include albums, true depositaries of family memories and the reinforcer of group ties, whether of a social or family nature. In fact, albums served as a means for visual cohesion of the family clan, something to join together all the novelties that were arising during the time of free-thought movements. THE DEBATE BETWEEN ART AND PHOTOGRAPHY: NADAR Around 1860 portrait photographers began to place elaborate painted backdrops in their photos. Many photographers felt the need to get even closer to painting and emulate its codes of representation. Thus, the basis for pictoralism was founded. At that time Nadar, a sketch artist and photographer, was in his Paris studio depicting bohemian life and his subjects’ personalities in his numerous portraits. Among his subjects were Delacroix, Doré, Baudelaire, Bakunin, etc. The photos of his in the present exhibit attest to his style, realistic and direct. The debate between art and photography resulted in one conclusion: the best portrait makers were those who could bring out the very human essence of a subject, one that may or may not have coincided with his/her actual appearance. However, the advantages of photography over painted portraits were obvious: immediacy, reliable representation, low cost, etc. FROM PAPER TO ALBUMIN, PHOTOGRAPHIC PRINTING PROCESSES With the arrival of colloidal plates, or "wet plates", the printing processes of photographs advanced considerably. The "albumin paper" was invented in 1850 by the French calotypist Blanquart-Evrad. It was prepared with solutions of egg white and silver nitrate and it became the most widely used support for photographic printing. Enlargements and reductions of photos was frequent. The "sun cameras", as the daylight enlargers were called, began to be used towards the end of the 1850’s and were usually placed on the outside of a building, normally on the glass-encased roofs of studios on the top floor. PHOTOGRAPHY AND TRAVEL In England around 1850, photography represented a professional alternative to watercolorists. Thus, a number of photographers appeared who were interested in landscapes, monuments, abbeys, forests, waterfalls, seaports, etc. Within this English school of landscape photographers we find Francis Frith, George Washington Wilson and James Valentine. Frith’s travels to Egypt and the Holy Land after 1856 were very influential. The catalogue that he compiled, with more than one million scenes of Europe, was one of the most significant of the era. His photos were distributed in the form of stereographic cards, albumin prints, portfolios and postcards. An entire generation of international photographers, avidly curious about other settings and landscapes, became documentary reporters on the worlds of science and tourism. The limited opportunities of travel made the goal of many an adventurous photographer the great journey through the orient, an itinerary of exotic lands with Egypt and the Holy Land as the main destinations, but including Spain, Portugal, Greece, and Turkey as well. The opening of the Suez Canal in 1869 made possible trips through the Nile Valley, Luxor and the Valley of Kings. Egyptian cities became tourist destinations, thus allowing photographic establishments to focus their activity on the sale of photos of monuments and portraits of tourists. The colloidal technique was the most widely used by traveling photographers, since the calotypes were the easiest to use under these circumstances. These permitted one to prepare the paper negative at home, expose them at the destination and develop them upon returning from the trip. THE EXHIBIT´S EDUCATIONAL WORKSHOP In this part of the exhibit one may hold daguerreotypes and observe them directly, see three-dimensional photos, access a database with black and white historical pictures or consult a wide array of books on the history of photography in the nineteenth century. In this workshop you have to use your hands. You may even touch some original pieces. This is just what you cannot do in the rest of the exhibit, for reasons of preservation, since the valuable photographs and albums are inside of glass display cabinets. The daguerreotype was the first photographic procedure to be spread internationally. It is distinguished by an image that one can see successively in both negative and positive, depending on the viewing angle and the type of light. The metal plate is protected by glass, inside of a case, completely isolated. This was the way photographers presented their customers with the daguerreotypes. The camera on display in the educational workshop is a replica of a daguerreotype camera from 1845. As with the original, it is made of wood, with no bellows, with two large sliding drawers that also may be fitted to adjust the focus. In the educational workshop one may also view and admire several stereoscopic cards. Noteworthy among these is the first steam locomotive that became operational in Granada in 1866. In another, one may see a photographer with his camera, doing a portrait of a woman with her small dog. The stereoscopic visual image is achieved by taking two photos that are very similar (but not identical) from two points close to each other, usually with a camera with two lenses. To produce the sensation of relief, the stereoscopic set must be seen with the appropriate viewer. The public has access to a CD entitled "Catalogue of Photographs of the Pacific Scientific Commission (1862-1866), CSIC Collection". This CD includes an extensive database, of which we may select from up to seven hundred photos, each with its corresponding catalogued reference card. In addition, in the educational workshop there is a library in which one can leaf through and compare publications dealing with photography of the nineteenth century. The most representative publications from Spain in the past twenty years have been selected, with some international titles as well.

P. Sebah c.1885 Laurent & Aubert General Prim c.1860 Daguerreotype 1845-50 James Valentine In the islands. Inverness. 1870-1885

Opening date:
June 20, 2001, at 7:30 p.m.