Hippolyte Bayard and the Invention of Photography

Karen Hellman, Carolyn Peter, Paul-Louis Roubert , Eleonore Challine

$113.95

Hardback

Forthcoming
Pre-Order now

QTY:

English

J. Paul Getty Museum
07 May 2024

Individual photographers

The first English-language volume about Hippolyte Bayard, one of the inventors of photography who helped transform the burgeoning medium into an art form.

Hippolyte Bayard (1801–1887) is often characterized as an underdog in the early history of photography. From the outset, his contribution to the invention of the medium was eclipsed by others such as Louis-Jacques-Mandé Daguerre (1787–1851) and William Henry Fox Talbot (1800–1877). However, Bayard had an undeniable role in the birth of photography and its subsequent evolution into a form of art. He was a pioneer in artistic style, innovator in terms of practice, and teacher of the next generation of photographers.

Alongside an exploration of Bayard's decades-long career and lasting impact, this volume presents—for the first time in print—some of the earliest photographs in existence. An album containing nearly 200 images, 145 of those by or attributed to Bayard, is among the Getty Museum's rarest and most treasured photographic holdings. Few prints have ever been seen in person due to the extreme light sensitivity of Bayard's experimental processes, making this an essential reference for scholars and enthusiasts of the very beginning of photography.

This volume is published to accompany an exhibition on view at the J. Paul Getty Museum at the Getty Center from April 9 to July 7, 2024.

Contributions by: Paul-Louis Roubert, Eleonore Challine, Paul Mpagi Sepuya
Edited by: Karen Hellman, Carolyn Peter
Imprint: J. Paul Getty Museum
Country of Publication: United States
Dimensions: Height: 279mm, Width: 229mm,
ISBN: 9781606068939
ISBN 10: 1606068938
Publication Date: 07 May 2024
Audience: General/trade , ELT Advanced
Format: Hardback
Publisher's Status: Forthcoming

Karen Hellman is former associate curator in the Department of Photographs at the J. Paul Getty Museum. Her work focuses on the early history of photography, primarily in Europe. Carolyn Peter is curatorial assistant curator in the Department of Photographs at the J. Paul Getty Museum.

Reviews for Hippolyte Bayard and the Invention of Photography

"""This marvelous volume, the first of its kind in English, combines comprehensive archival research on the elusive Bayard with penetrating short essays on individual photographs. With its meticulously researched chapters by Bayard experts and gorgeous illustrations that can stand in for those of the photographs that are now too fragile to exhibit, this book is a windfall to historians of photography. It is not an exaggeration to say the field has been waiting years for a publication like this. In addition to its scholarly contribution, this book will be a revelation to any lover of photography."" --Laurie Dahlberg, Associate Professor, Program in Art History and Photography, Bard College ""At last we have a comprehensive book in the English language about one of the most interesting of photography's pioneers. Incessantly experimental and an omnivorous picture maker, Hippolyte Bayard is a photographer who has stood the test of time: as this copiously illustrated book demonstrates, his work is as fascinating today as it was in the nineteenth century."" --Geoffrey Batchen, Professor of the History of Art, University of Oxford"