Louis Daguerre
Louis Daguerre | |
---|---|
Born | Louis-Jacques-Mandé Daguerre 18 November 1787 |
Died | 10 July 1851 | (aged 63)
Known for | Invention of the daguerreotype process |
Spouse |
Louise Georgina Arrow-Smith
(m. 1810–1851) |
Signature | |
Louis-Jacques-Mandé Daguerre (/dəˈɡɛər/ ⓘ də-GAIR, French: [lwi ʒɑk mɑ̃de daɡɛʁ]; 18 November 1787 – 10 July 1851) was a French artist and photographer, recognized for his invention of the eponymous daguerreotype process of photography. He became known as one of the fathers of photography. Though he is most famous for his contributions to photography, he was also an accomplished painter, scenic designer, and a developer of the diorama theatre.
Biography
Louis Daguerre was born in Cormeilles-en-Parisis, Val-d'Oise. He was apprenticed in architecture, theatre design, and panoramic painting to Pierre Prévost, the first French panorama painter. Exceedingly adept at his skill of theatrical illusion, he became a celebrated designer for the theatre, and later came to invent the diorama, which opened in Paris in July 1822.
In 1829, Daguerre partnered with
Daguerre died, from a heart attack,[4] on 10 July 1851 in Bry-sur-Marne, 12 km (7 mi) from Paris. A monument marks his grave there.
Daguerre's name is one of the
Development of the daguerreotype
In the mid-1820s, prior to his association with Daguerre,
After the death of Niépce in 1833, Daguerre concentrated his attention on the light-sensitive properties of silver salts, which had previously been demonstrated by
The latent image on a daguerreotype plate was developed by subjecting it to the vapour given off by mercury heated to 75 °C. The resulting visible image was then "fixed" (made insensitive to further exposure to light) by removing the unaffected silver iodide with concentrated and heated salt water. Later, a solution of the more effective "hypo" (hyposulphite of soda, now known as sodium thiosulfate) was used instead.[8]
The resultant plate produced an exact reproduction of the scene. The image was laterally reversed—as images in mirrors are—unless a mirror or inverting prism was used during exposure to flip the image. To be seen optimally, the image had to be lit at a certain angle and viewed so that the smooth parts of its mirror-like surface, which represented the darkest parts of the image, reflected something dark or dimly lit. The surface was subject to tarnishing by prolonged exposure to the air and was so soft that it could be marred by the slightest friction, so a daguerreotype was almost always sealed under glass before being framed (as was commonly done in France) or mounted in a small folding case (as was normal in the UK and US).
Daguerreotypes were usually
The daguerreotype was the
The same small ornate cases commonly used to house daguerreotypes were also used for images produced by the later and very different ambrotype and tintype processes, and the images originally in them were sometimes later discarded so that they could be used to display photographic paper prints. It is now a very common error for any image in such a case to be described as "a daguerreotype". A true daguerreotype is always an image on a highly polished silver surface, usually under protective glass. If it is viewed while a brightly lit sheet of white paper is held so as to be seen reflected in its mirror-like metal surface, the daguerreotype image will appear as a relatively faint negative—its dark and light areas reversed—instead of a normal positive. Other types of photographic images are almost never on polished metal and do not exhibit this peculiar characteristic of appearing positive or negative depending on the lighting and reflections.
Competition with Talbot
Unbeknownst to either inventor, Daguerre's developmental work in the mid-1830s coincided with photographic experiments being conducted by William Henry Fox Talbot in England. Talbot had succeeded in producing a "sensitive paper" impregnated with silver chloride and capturing small camera images on it in the summer of 1835, though he did not publicly reveal this until January 1839. Talbot was unaware that Daguerre's late partner Niépce had obtained similar small camera images on silver-chloride-coated paper nearly twenty years earlier. Niépce could find no way to keep them from darkening all over when exposed to light for viewing and had therefore turned away from silver salts to experiment with other substances such as bitumen. Talbot chemically stabilized his images to withstand subsequent inspection in daylight by treating them with a strong solution of common salt.
When the first reports of the French Academy of Sciences announcement of Daguerre's invention reached Talbot, with no details about the exact nature of the images or the process itself, he assumed that methods similar to his own must have been used, and promptly wrote an open letter to the Academy claiming priority of invention. Although it soon became apparent that Daguerre's process was very unlike his own, Talbot had been stimulated to resume his long-discontinued photographic experiments. The developed out daguerreotype process only required an exposure sufficient to create a very faint or completely invisible latent image which was then chemically developed to full visibility. Talbot's earlier "sensitive paper" (now known as "salted paper") process was a printed out process that required prolonged exposure in the camera until the image was fully formed, but his later calotype (also known as talbotype) paper negative process, introduced in 1841, also used latent image development, greatly reducing the exposure needed, and making it competitive with the daguerreotype.
Daguerre's agent Miles Berry applied for a British patent under the instruction of Daguerre just days before France declared the invention "free to the world". The United Kingdom was thereby uniquely denied France's free gift, and became the only country where the payment of license fees was required. This had the effect of inhibiting the spread of the process there, to the eventual advantage of competing processes which were subsequently introduced into England.
Diorama theatres
In the spring of 1821, Daguerre partnered with Charles Marie Bouton with the common goal of creating a diorama theatre. Daguerre had expertise in lighting and scenic effects, and Bouton was the more experienced painter. However, Bouton eventually withdrew, and Daguerre acquired sole responsibility of the diorama theatre.
The first diorama theatre was built in the Place du Château d'Eau (now the
Because of their size, the screens had to remain stationary. Since the tableaux were stationary, the auditorium revolved from one scene to another. The auditorium was a cylindrical room and had a single opening in the wall, similar to a proscenium arch, through which the audience could watch a "scene". Audiences would average around 350, and most would stand, though limited seating was provided. Twenty-one diorama paintings were exhibited in the first eight years. These included 'Trinity Chapel in Canterbury Cathedral', 'Chartres Cathedral', 'City of Rouen', and 'Environs of Paris' by Bouton; 'Valley of Sarnen', 'Harbour of Brest', 'Holyroodhouse Chapel', and 'Roslin Chapel' by Daguerre.
The Roslin Chapel was known for a few legends involving an unconsuming fire. The legend goes that the Chapel has appeared to be in flames just before a high-status death, but has later shown no damage from any such fire. This chapel was also known for being unique in its architectural beauty. Daguerre was aware of both of these aspects of Roslin Chapel, and this made it a perfect subject for his diorama painting. The legends connected with the chapel would be sure to attract a large audience. Interior of Roslin Chapel in Paris opened 24 September 1824 and closed February 1825. The scene depicted light coming in through a door and a window. Foliage shadows could be seen at the window, and the way the light's rays shone through the leaves was breathtaking and seemed to "go beyond the power of painting" (Maggi). Then the light faded on the scene as if a cloud was passing over the sun. The Times dedicated an article to the exhibition, calling it "perfectly magical".
The dioramas prospered, earning 200,000 francs a year, a very high profit for the 1830s period. The surging demand led to new diorama theatres opening in London and Berlin. However, in 8 March 1839, a fire broke out in the theatre in Paris. Daguerre urged the firefighters to stop the blaze on the fifth floor, where all his daguerreotype specimens, notes, and equipment were kept. He was more interested in the development of daguerreotypes, and later in August 1839, his daguerreotype specimens were debuted. Later in the 1840s, along with increasing attention to
Portraits of and works by Louis Daguerre
-
The Ruins of Holyrood Chapel, painting by Daguerre (1824)
-
Daguerreotype of the Pont Neuf, 1836-39. Two people can be seen lying in the shade of the statue. Said to be the first successful daguerreotype taken in open air by Daguerre and Mathurin Fordos.
-
Daguerreotype of Notre Dame de Paris by Daguerre, c. 1838
-
Still Life with Jupiter Tonans(1839)
-
1839 daguerreotype made by Daguerre from his apartment at Boulevard Saint-Martin, where he lived after the diorama fire.
-
Portrait by E. Thiésson (1844)
-
Portrait by Jean-Baptiste Sabatier-Blot (1844)
-
Portrait by unknown photographer (c. 1844)[12]
-
Portrait by Charles Meade (1848)
-
Portrait by Charles Meade (1848)
See also
- John Herschel
- List of people considered father or mother of a field
- Palladiotype
- Photographic processes
- Platinotype
- William Willis
- Daguerreotype
References
- ^ "The First Photograph — Heliography". Archived from the original on 6 October 2009. Retrieved 29 September 2009.
from Helmut Gernsheim's article, "The 150th Anniversary of Photography," in History of Photography, Vol. I, No. 1, January 1977: ... In 1822, Niépce coated a glass plate ... The sunlight passing through ... This first permanent example ... was destroyed ... some years later.
- ISBN 0-13-145527-3.
- ^ Daniel, Malcolm. "Daguerre (1787–1851) and the Invention of Photography". Metropolitan Museum of Art. Retrieved 17 October 2018.
- ^ "January 2, 1839: First Daguerreotype of the Moon". APS Physics. APS.
- ^ National Geographic, October 1989, pg. 530
- ^ Ihl, Oliver (13 March 2018). "L'histoire méconnue du premier portrait photographique". The Conversation. Retrieved 18 July 2023.
- ^ Darcy-Roquencourt, Jacques. "Compléments sur le portrait de Mr Huet". niepce-daguerre.com. Retrieved 18 July 2023.
- ^ "Daguerre". UC Santa Barbara Department of Geography. Retrieved 18 November 2011.
- ^ "'A State Pension for L. J. M. Daguerre for the secret of his Daguerreotype technique' by R. Derek Wood". Archived from the original on 11 September 2014. Wood, R.D., Annals of Science, 1997, Vol 54, pp. 489–506.
- ^ a b Halley, Catherine (1 July 2020). "Diorama, qu'est-ce que c'est?". JSTOR Daily. Retrieved 23 December 2022.
- ^ Szalczer, Eszter (2001). "Nature's Dream Play: Modes of Vision and August Strindberg's Re-Definition Of the Theatre". Theatre Journal. 1 (53). Johns Hopkins University Press.
- ^ "Louis-Jacques-Mandé Daguerre". The Metropolitan Museum of Art. Retrieved 9 April 2021.
Sources
- Carl Edwin Lindgren. Teaching Photography in the Indian School. Photo Trade Directory: 1991. India International Photographic Council. Edited: N. Sundarraj and K. Ponnuswamy. VII IIPC-SIPATA Intl. Workshop and Conference on Photography – Madras, p. 9.
- R. Colson (ed.), "Mémoires originaux des créateurs de la photographie. Nicéphore Niepce, Daguerre, Bayard, Talbot, Niepce de Saint-Victor", Poitevin, Paris 1898
- Helmut and Alison Gernsheim, L.J.M. Daguerre. The History of the Diorama and the Daguerreotype, London 1956 (revised edition 1968) [ISBN missing]
- Beaumont Newhall, An Historical and Descriptive Account of the Various Processes of the Daguerreotype and the Diorama by Daguerre, New York, 1971 [ISBN missing]
- Hans Rooseboom, "What's wrong with Daguerre? Reconsidering old and new views on the invention of photography", Nescio, Amsterdam, 2010 (www.nescioprivatepress.blogspot.com)
- Daguerre, Louis (1839). History and Practice of the Photogenic Drawing on the True Principles of the Daguerreotype with the New Method of Dioramic Painting. London: Stewart and Murray.
A practical description of that process called the daguerreotype.
- Daniel, Malcolm. "Daguerre (1787–1851) and the Invention of Photography". The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 2011. Web. 17 January 2012.
- Gale, Thomas. "Louis Jacques Mande Daguerre". BookRags, Inc., 2012. Web. 14 April 2012.
- Kahane, Henry. Comparative Literature Studies. 3rd ed. Vol. 12. Penn State UP, 1975. Print.
- Maggi, Angelo. "Roslin Chapel in Gandy's Sketchbook and Daguerre's Diorama". Architectural History. 1991 ed. Vol. 42. SAHGB Publications Limited, 1991. Print.
- Szalczer, Eszter. "Nature's Dream Play: Modes of Vision and August Strindberg's Re-Definition Of the Theatre". Theatre Journal. 1st ed. Vol. 53. Johns Hopkins UP, 2001. Print.
- "Classics of Science: The Daguerreotype". The Science News-Letter. 374th ed. Vol. 13. Society For Science & the Public, 1928. Print.
- Watson, Bruce, "Light: A Radiant History from Creation to the Quantum Age", (London and NY: Bloomsbury, 2016). Print.
- Wilkinson, Lynn R. "Le Cousin Pons and the Invention of Ideology". PMLA. 2nd ed. Vol. 107. Modern Language Association, 1992. Print.
- Wood, R. Derek. "The Diorama in Great Britain in the 1820s". Annals of Science, Sept 1997, Vol 54, No. 5, pp. 489–506 (Taylor & Francis Group). Web. (Midley History of early Photography) 14 April 2012
External links
- Daguerre (1787–1851) and the Invention of Photography from the Metropolitan Museum of Art
- DIORAMAS
- Louis Daguerre and Bry-sur-Marne
- Louis Daguerre Biography
- Louis Daguerre (1787–1851) from World Wide Art Resources.
- Daguerre, Louis Jacques Mande by Robert Leggat.
- Daguerre and the daguerreotype An array of source texts from the Daguerreian Society web site
- Daguerre's Boulevard du Temple photograph – Discussion on daguerreotype's making and subsequent history.
- Daguerre Memorial in Washington D.C.
- Louis Daguerre Encyclopædia Britannica
- Daguerre in a historical context
- Daguerreobase – Collective cataloging tool for daguerreotypes
- Official Website of Bry-Sur-Marne's Museum – Enhancement of the museum's collections, some are related with the work of Louis Daguerre.
- Works by Louis Daguerre at Project Gutenberg
- Works by or about Louis Daguerre at Internet Archive