Synopses & Reviews
Charles Marville (1813andndash;79) is widely acknowledged as one of the most talented photographers of the nineteenth century. Accompanying a major retrospective exhibition at the National Gallery of Art to honor Marvilleandrsquo;s bicentennial,
Charles Marville: Photographer of Nineteenth-Century Paris offers a survey of the artistandrsquo;s entire career. This beautiful book, which begins with the city scenes and architectural studies Marville made throughout France and Germany in the 1850s, and also explores his landscapes and portraits, as well as his photographs of Paris both before and after many of its medieval streets were razed to make way for the broad boulevards, parks, and monumental buildings we have come to associate with the City of Light. Commissioned to record the city in transition, Marville became known as the official photographer of Paris.
Marville has long been an enigma in the history of photography, in part because many of the documents about his life were thought to have been lost in a fire that destroyed Parisandrsquo;s city hall in 1871. Based on meticulous research, this volume offers many new insights into Marvilleandrsquo;s personal and professional biography, including the central fact that Marville was not his given name. Born Charles-Franandccedil;ois Bossu in 1813, the photographer adopted the pseudonym when he began his career as an illustrator in the 1830s. With five essays by respected scholars, this book offers the first comprehensive examination of Marvilleandrsquo;s life and career and delivers the much-awaited public recognition his work so richly deserves.
Review
"You can almost feel the cool, smooth squares of silk flowing through your fingers as you turn the pages of Nadine Coleno's chic coffee table tribute to Hermès. You can't help but pick your favorites" Choice
Review
and#8220;Charles Marville is best known for his government commission to photograph the neighborhoods of Paris slated for demolition during Baron Haussmannand#8217;s reconfiguration of the city between 1853 and 1870. In fact, that is virtually all he has been known for, a matter the authors of Charles Marville: Photographer of Paris are eager to rectify. Among the basic but previously unknown facts they have unearthed are his real name (Charles-Franand#231;ois Bossuand#8212;which means and#8220;hunchbackand#8221;) and his date of birth (1813). They have also delved into his early career as an illustrator for the popular press and his pre-commission work as a photographer. . . . It is wonderful to finally have appropriately scaled reproductions of these pictures at hand.and#8221;
Review
and#8220;The images bring to life nineteenth-century Paris with such vividness that in one standout shot, the grain of wood on the side of a shedand#8212;perhaps a hundred feet from the cameraand#8212;is seen in startling detail.and#8221;
Review
and#8220;Charles Marville long has remained a mysterious figure, despite his significance for the history of photography and the documentation of modern urban design. Thanks to the efforts of this volumeand#8217;s authors, led by curator Kennel, Marville is a mystery no more. . . . Through its exceptional reproductions and new discoveries, this book confirms and expands Marvilleand#8217;s significance. . . . Highly recommended.and#8221;
Review
and#8220;In addition to significant biographical insights and#8211; that Marville was a pseudonym concocted by the young Charles-Franand#231;ois Bossu at the beginning of his career, for instance and#8211; Sarah Kenneland#8217;s catalogue essay supplies a textured account of his milieu that locates him at a revealing juncture: between the forefront of a developing medium, on the one hand, and its burgeoning commercial and institutional uses on the other.and#8221;
Synopsis
Since the announcement of photography's invention in 1839, various methods of making photographs have been practiced. Until the advent of digital photography at the end of the twentieth century, all of these methods required three elements: light-sensitive materials that behave predictably in response to light; chemicals that control and fix the action of light to create an image; and a support upon which the image rests. Photographers and others have continually explored and refined these basic requirements in their quest to expand the artistic and technological possibilities of photography. This book describes in a clear, accessible manner the main photographic and photomechanical processes (some still in practice) from the origins of the medium up to the time when the use of chemicals and a darkened room in which to process photographs was gradually superseded by the advent of digital photography. This elegant guide will prove invaluable to students, photographers, museum visitors, collectors, and anyone interested in the rich and fascinating history of photography. The book includes work by Euge`ne Atget, Robert Frank, Laura Gilpin, Andre´ Kerte´sz, Helen Levitt, Robert Mapplethorpe, Eadweard Muybridge, Edward Steichen, Alfred Stieglitz, William Henry Fox Talbot, Andy Warhol, Edward Weston.
Synopsis
A concise introduction to the twenty-seven most common photographic and photomechanical processes, from albumen print to Woodburytype.
Synopsis
Since the announcement of photography’s invention in 1839, various methods of making photographs have been practiced. Until the advent of digital photography at the end of the twentieth century, all of these methods required three elements: light-sensitive materials that behave predictably in response to light; chemicals that control and fix the action of light to create an image; and a support upon which the image rests. Photographers and others have continually explored and refined these basic requirements in their quest to expand the artistic and technological possibilities of photography.
This book describes in a clear, accessible manner the main photographic and photomechanical processes (some still in practice) from the origins of the medium up to the time when the use of chemicals and a darkened room in which to process photographs was gradually superseded by the advent of digital photography.
This elegant guide will prove invaluable to students, photographers, museum visitors, collectors, and anyone interested in the rich and fascinating history of photography.
The book includes work by Eugène Atget, Robert Frank, Laura Gilpin, André Kertész, Helen Levitt, Robert Mapplethorpe, Eadweard Muybridge, Edward Steichen, Alfred Stieglitz, William Henry Fox Talbot, Andy Warhol, Edward Weston.
About the Author
Sarah Kennel is associate curator of photography at the National Gallery of Art in Washington, DC.
Anne de Mondenard is conservateur du patrimoine, adjoint au chef du dand#233;partement de la conservation prand#233;ventive au Centre de recherche et de restauration des musand#233;es de France.Peter Barberie is curator of photographs at the Philadelphia Museum of Art.Franand#231;oise Reynaud is curator of photographs at the Musand#233;e Carnavalet, Paris.Joke de Wolf is a PhD candidate at the Rijksuniversiteit Groningen.