The Genius Of Photography

[poliphilo]

The BBC's new history of photography isn't definitive- it leaves out too much- but it's insightful and full of nuggety bits of information.  Fox Talbot invented the calotype because he couldn't draw. There are still people taking daguerrotypes because they love the intensity and the shininess. Nadar's direct and incisive portraits of artists have never been bettered (I'll second that). Pictures of crime scenes taken by turn of the century NYC policemen prove the inherent genius of the medium. While Edwardian artist photographers were pretending to be Whistler it was the careless, snap-happy amateurs, like Lartigue, who drove the medium forwards.



George Sand by Nadar

Comments

[aellia.livejournal.com]

I missed it.
Sounds interestin thought
George is the woman's name?

[poliphilo.livejournal.com]

It was her pen name. Here real name was (wait for it) Amantine Aurore Lucile Dupin, Baronne Dudevant.

[aellia.livejournal.com]

Oh,that's a name and a half!
I like Aurore :-)
x

[baritonejeff.livejournal.com]

So THAT'S what Chopin's amour looked like, albeit probably many years after he was already gone? I don't believe I've ever seen a photographic image of her.

[poliphilo.livejournal.com]

I don't know of any others. But Wikipedia Commons has some striking painted and engraved portraits of her.

[karenkay.livejournal.com]

I LOVE that photo! Thank you.

[poliphilo.livejournal.com]

Nadar set new standards in portrait photography. He's still one of the very best.

[karenkay.livejournal.com]

When I think of George Sand, I think of Emma Thompson, because of the movie. So it was a pleasant shock to see what she really looked like.

[poliphilo.livejournal.com]

I've missed out on that movie. I need to track it down. I'm very fond of Emma Thompson (though she doesn't look the least bit like the real George Sand).

[karenkay.livejournal.com]

OOPS!!! Right movie, wrong actress! Well, neither of them look like the real George Sand. The movie is "Impromptu" http://us.imdb.com/title/tt0102103/. It's definitely in my top 10. Judy Davis was very good, even though I misidentified her.

[poliphilo.livejournal.com]

I'm not sure I can place Judy Davis....

Hugh Grant as Chopin- that's a strange piece of casting.

[karenkay.livejournal.com]

He was actually quite good. A caricature, but not over the top. It's not a profound film, just really well done.

[mummm.livejournal.com]

Interesting lady, great photographer!

[poliphilo.livejournal.com]

I think great photographers like Nadar should be household names. I'm not entirely sure why they're not.

[mummm.livejournal.com]

It depends on the household! ;-)

[athenais.livejournal.com]

Oh, I hope it will be shown here. I would love to see that show.

[poliphilo.livejournal.com]

It's a six-part series.

I'm looking forward to the rest.