Although the beginning of the 19th century saw  photography progress and grow, it was an expensive art and with printing only available on wet plates to begin with it was not a easy art used in the average household and was left to the professionals.
Photography progressed more rapidly towards the end of the 19th century as transparent film was invented in 1889 'EASTMAN American Film' by company 'Eastman dry plates' which was founded by George Eastman (who invented the first dry plates with gelatin emulsion) and his partner Henry A Strong.
     Photography did not become popular in the average household until the release of  the 'Brownie' camera 1n 1900 depsite the devlopment throughout the 19th century.

Kodak's release of the Brownie camera made it possible financially for virtually anyone to take up photography as a hobby.
The camera was marketed for £1 and it was only around 15 cent per roll of film.
The Brownie was a big revelation in the photography world as before this point amateur photography was non existent virtually.

The Ancient World

Acient Egypt

The 'Book of the Dead' is an ancient Egyptian religious book. The book consists of over 2000 mythical characters and was printed on scrolls made out of papayas and buried with a deceased person's sarcophagus. The book literally means 'The coming (or going)' and consists of spells, charms, passwords and so on which was aimed for the deceased to use in the after life.

Books of dead were usually filled with illustrations of the deceased and their tests in the afterlife.


 

1920's Russia and Europe

Surrealism and Sexuality in Photography 1920's

Surrealism is a term that relates to a cultural movement that occurred during the 1920's when a group of artists and writers founded it )based on the idea of imagination, dreams and the opposite to reality basically) in France. Surrealism effected the cultural movement of the world and influenced the worlds artists and writers and changed the movement in the Art world.

Man Ray a French photographer was influenced by surrealism and created iconic imagery which combined both surrealism and sexuality and is one of the most dated influential surrealism photographers.

These images were taking by Man Ray in the 1920's in the early stages of photography.
The images include nude poses which was quite rare in the days when these were published which works well in the surrealism style as it is something unexpected and risky.

The American Civil War
One of the most significant events of the 19th century was the American Civil War and with the recent development of photography the war was documented by some early photographers. Mathew Brady was an American photographer who fought for access to the battlefields of the American Civil War to produce photographs despite the risks he would be taking. Brady was successful and his risk in taking his studio into the war earned him a name in history as a war documentary photographer as well as a celebrity photographer.The image below was captured by Mathew Brady during the civil war, the photo is really dramatic due to the realism it has. The black and white colour scheme (only option available at the time) makes our minds immediately believe that it is a documentary image and therefore the photo appears realistic. The photograph documents bodies of soilders on the ground of the battlefields, this picture will have been a new perspective for those in the 19th century and therefore more shocking when Brady published.

The image below was also captured by Mathew Brady also and is a powerful documentation and inside look at soilders at war. The image gives us an idea of the emotions and relationship the soilders had as we can see their facial expressions and body language around eachother.

Mathew Brady was a great influence on the documentary photography and war photography we see today for example the likes of Don McCullin.

The 17th and 18th centuries

The 17th and 18th centuries are known for showing wealth, power and class, this is reflected in the artwork created in this period.
The painting (left) was painted by artist Thomas Gainsborough called 'Mr and Mrs Andrews' and shows a couple on there estate. The man has a gun under his arm which to me represents power and wealth. He is stood in a proud manor which is a bit cocky which gives the idea that he is showing off and boasting his power.
The woman in the painting is sat at an angle that shows her full body and attire, both the man and woman are wearing clothes which suggest wealth due to the colours and materials which would only be available to higher classes such as the womans blue dress with gold trimming and accessories and her high heeled gold shoes. The woman is also sat elaborately on what appears to be a wooden bench, it is suggested that this painting was not finished of the woman's leg in order for a child to be painted in.

This painting is by Jean- Mark Nattier and shows a woman with her servants , slavery was popular during both the 17th and 18th century and in this image the woman is surrounded by slaves whilst she sits elaborately and proudly, the fact she is elevated and the slaves are on the floor shows her dominance in the image. The fabrics and clothing in the image suggest wealth also such as the thick rug which is on the floor and the rich red over coat that she is dressed in, both these are thick materials and contain red which is usually a colour associated with wealth.
The fact that the slaves are in the painting shows how people liked to boast their class as this woman choose to be painted with them to show her material items and that they are her property.

The Renaissance Patronage
Patronage in terms of art history is the act of wealth and power for example Kings and Popes paying those of the arts such as artists, sculpters, musicians and poets for their talent.

Florence is commonly known as the birth place of renaissance art, the patrons of Italy were the Medeci family for a large part of the renaissance period. The Medeci family who were known as a wealthy banking family had a lot of power and had a large influence on the political and art world.

The patrons of Florence encouraged and invested in many of the famous artists that we look back on today such as Leonardo Da Vinci and Michelangelo.
Michelangelo Michelangelo was an Italian artist and poet known for his painting and sculpting, his most famous work is in the Sistine Chapel in Rome on both the ceiling and and the alter wall were he tells the story of genesis and the last judgement with his detailed paintings.
The Sistine Chapel Ceiling (Left) is 9 panels which are painted individually to illustrate the religious stories.
Michelangelo was considered before his time and therefore had a huge influence on the art world and the way artists paint today.

Leonardo Da Vinci 

Leonardo Da Vinci was one of the most influential artists from the Renaissance, Da Vinci was most known as a painter but was also a talented sculptor, architect, musician and inventor amongst other things.
One of Da Vinci's paintings is the 'Mona Lisa' (right) which is said to have been created between 1503- 1517. The portrait is one of the most famous paintings in the world and is most know for 'The Mona Lisa's' smile which makes people questions about what she was thinking and what is being portrayed there are some suspicions that the painting was not finished because of the intriguing smile, there has also been speculations that the painting is a portrayal of Da Vinci himself. The background of the portrait is a landscape which is said to be imaginary as the location is unknown. The 
background is a landscape consisting mainly of blue, green and brown tones, the green and blue tones are pale so that more attention is drawn to her face and the foreground of the landscape which is level with her body is brown which is lighter than the tones of her body, the foreground also has trails that lead to her shoulders therefore the colours in the painting work well on drawing attention to her face. The combination of pale and rich colours in the painting which make the Mona Lisa look almost ghost like and slightly glowing give show the photos Renaissance style.
 The Mona Lisa is Leonardo Da Vinci's most famous piece of art but his other creations such as 'Vitruvan Man' and 'The Last Supper' are regarded as treasures in the art world.

1900-1920

The early 20th century saw the release of the Brownie Camera (Eastman and Kodak) which allowed the average household to take up photography as a hobby due to the affordable cost. After this point photography was beginning to be seen as more as an art form as the variety of photography widened to abstract prints, nudity and landscapes. Nudity was becoming more accepted in the art world and this had a big influence on the work created in the 20th century from the likes of Clarence White for example.

As the popularity for photography was increasing, photographers became more experimental with their work in the early 20th century and this resulted in photographs been seen as a document and the start of
documentary photography.
Eugene Atget is a documentary photographer from the early 20th century who created work that still influences photographers today




The photograph below was taken by photographer Eugene Atget, although the image is from 1910 and is one of the earliest photographs from the documentary genre, it is still to the standard produced today and has all the main elements that a documentary photograph still consists of in this day and age.
The image is a candid shot of a police officer as he is not looking into the camera and doesn't seem aware or disturbed by the camera.
The image shows the man walking past a building which is a mythical creatures open mouth, the image has quite a humorous twist because of this, we still see humour in the documentary photography for example the work of Matin Parr; a documentary photographer who is known for his ironic or humorous shots.
The image has a lot of detail because of the sharp focus and the high contrast which makes the  image appear more real and like a document.