Birth of Modern Europe
Birth of Photography and Modernity
Eugene Appert. Execution of Hostages at the Roquette Prison. 1871[1]
Photography in Paris, 1839 - 1900:
The invention of the daguerreotype in 1839 was an influential event in the history of photography and the world. Louis Daguerre's secret process for producing an image on copper plates rapidly caught the attention of the public. The modern age with its fascination in objective reality and a scientific view of the world was the ideal climate for the invention and development of photography.
The 19th century was a time filled with inventions. This time period can be considered the birth of modern Europe with the rise of the middle class and middle class institutions, industrialization, and the embrace of the modern itself. This drive toward modernity in nineteenth century France propelled the invention and development of photography. Throughout the 1800s, Paris dominated the French photographic industry and became a world trendsetter in the uses of this new media.
The success of the daguerreotype encouraged further invention which led to the rapid development of newer more versatile photographic processes and equipment. These advances revolutionized the new medium and enabled photographers to experiment with the camera in creative ways that went far beyond the functional uses of the camera as a recording device. Whether photographs were art was a controversial question during this era.
The ability to create images with the power to convey important ideas made photographs an ideal form of propaganda and an invaluable political weapon .
Photography represented all the modern industrial world had to offer with its efficiency, speed, availability to the general public, and reproducibility. Its development mirrored the social, economic, and political currents of 19th century France. Photography was to become a modern social, political, and economic force as well as a modern art form.
Why each photographic process was popular
Photography as a political force
Photography as an economic force
[1] 1996 - 2001, Birna Marianne Kleivan og Det Nationale Fotomuseum, <http://www.kb.dk/fotomuseum/art/birna.htm>