Photographer of Modern Life: Camille Silvy

About this book

The French photographer Camille Silvy (1834 1910) was one of the most original artists of his time. More than any other nineteenth-century photographer Silvy exemplifies Charles Baudelaires idea of the artist as an interpreter of modern life. This book explores Silvys innovative efforts to master industrial-scale portrait production alongside fineart photography in his popular London studio. Presenting sitters in modern dress was a new phenomenon and Silvy was a pioneer in the creation of the carte-de-visite (a photographic visiting card). This fascinating account of Silvys life and photography is published to mark the centenary of his death. Combining research into exhibition prints still lifes and street scenes as well as the intimate beautifully lit and posed cartes-de-visite the book demonstrates Silvys extraordinary originality and his life as a man of both art and commerce. A previously unpublished photographic collection of his family is also included.