Description
When photography was invented in 1839 the first dream of the photographers, to take a portrait, seemed out of reach because it was impossible to keep the people for such a long time. The children sitting for their portraits look bored and the smile we generally expect is not there.
Ways were later invented to keep the subject practically immobile by using lenses that could reduce exposure time and chemical agents that would speed up the process were also experimented with. Finally in the middle of the nineteenth century the “carte de visite” were invented, portraits sometimes colored to make them more alive, enhanced by gold dust to make the clothes more precious, punched to create diamond like reflections. Since the small size pictures were not expensive, the photographs were given to friends and relatives and the era of the popularization of photography began.
If we look hard at some of the pieces on exhibit in the museum, we discover that at the origins of the new invention are complex and fascinating. The place where the portrait was taken, like the famous Alinari Portrait Studio, had something magic about it, for it could transform the person both while he was being photographed and afterwards, thanks to a camera that could capture for ever the desired identity on paper.
Information and reservations
Telephone 055216310 or write to didatticamnaf@alinari.it
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