In the early days of photography, in the first half of the 19th century, a certain Daguerre perfected the first photographic process based on the work of his associate Nicéphore Niépce. During an outdoor excursion, he completed his invention and produced the first photograph of the French capital. And not only that…
The history of the oldest photograph of Rome
Photography was officially born in 1839, but as early as 1837 Louis Jacques Mandé Daguerre perfected the process known as daguerreotype. This method produced a single positive image on a silver plate, faithfully representing what was observed through an eyepiece.
In addition to Paris, daguerreotypes were also made in Rome. Among them, a 1841 shot depicts the Colosseum as seen from the Palatine Hill: this is the earliest image not produced by the human hand (e.g., through painting) of the famous monument, made just two years after the official birth of photography.
Fascinating in many ways, it allows us to immerse ourselves in a bygone era and learn a little more about the city. Daguerre experimented with outdoor photography and captured the moment.
Subsequently, Rome was among the first Italian cities to switch from daguerreotype to photography printed on paper from negatives, initially paper and then glass. Despite papal government restrictions and Risorgimento turmoil, photography spread rapidly.
In the 19th century, photography took inspiration from painting, especially in views and portraits, to establish itself as an art form and not just as a reproduction technique. The Museum of Rome holds valuable historical photographs if you are interested in the subject.
The oldest photo of Paris
The first photo taken by Daguerre in 1838 is this one of Paris. But it is not unique for that reason alone: on that day for the first time a man was captured in a photograph. Before it was perfected, the photographic process required the subject to be posed for long periods of time. Coincidentally, this is exactly what was happening below-a man was having his shoes polished. So this photo is doubly stunning!