Class Portuguese Photography History

The History of Portuguese photography had an important contribution to the European and Western History of photography. The reduced number of national studies and publications, as well as poor dissemination of images of Portuguese photographers, has blurred this perception and contributed to a lack of knowledge of the pioneering spirit of many amateur and professional photographers, both in terms of their techniques and the specificity of their photographic eye. This curricular unit aims at framing photographic periods, concepts, and media from the history of Portuguese photography with cultural paradigms and with national and European political and social contexts. Based on the main studies and publications on Portuguese photography, the modes of production, promotion, and distribution of photography in Portugal will be analyzed, as well as its dynamics in the national visual culture.

1. The History of Photography in Portugal: publications, exhibitions, and collections; 
2. The introduction of photography in Portugal: daguerreotype, calotype and stereoscopy;
2.1. Case Study 1: the amateur photographer Joseph James Forrester (text 1);

3. Printmaking and the dissemination of photography in the press and salons; 
4. Photography and the sphere of art in Portugal;
4.1. Case Study 2: the amateur photographer Carlos Relvas (text 2);

4.2.The Catalogue Raisonné of Carlos Relvas' stereoscopic photography;

5. Photography and heritage: the surveys and photographic editions;
5.1. The photographic survey of the Monastery of Batalha: C. Relvas versus C. T. Thompson 

5.2. Case study 3: Emílio Biel and 'Art and Nature in Portugal' (text 3);

6. Stereoscopic photography in Portugal: authors, commercial series and genres; 
7. Photography in the Portuguese colonial project; 
7.1. Case study 4: José Augusto Cunha Moraes and the West African photographic project (text 4);

Consultation and viewing of historical photographs using the optical equipment used during the 19th century (graphoscopes, stereoscopes and magnifying glasses). With the support of the Early Visual Media Lab - CICANT collection.

BAPTISTA, Paulo Ribeiro (2015), ‘Um novo olhar sobre o país: Emílio Biel e a Arte e a Natureza em Portugal’, in O Portugal de Emílio Biel, pp.63-103

FIGUEIREDO, Filipe (2008), ‘Forrester, um amador de fotografia em Portugal’, in AAVV., Barão de Forrester, Razão e Sentimento. Uma História do Douro (1831-1861), Peso da Régua: Museu do Douro.

FLORES, Victor (2021), ‘Carlos Relvas’s Stereoscopic Photography: The Digital Reunion of Negatives and Prints’, History of Photography.

FLORES, Victor (2019), ‘O Estereoscópio Portuguez de Aurélio da Paz dos Reis’, in A Terceira Imagem. A fotografia estereoscópica em Portugal, Lisboa, Documenta.

VICENTE, António Pedro (1984), Carlos Relvas Fotógrafo. Contribuição para a História da Fotografia em Portugal no Século XIX, Lisboa, Imprensa Nacional-Casa da Moeda, Colecção Arte e Artistas.

VICENTE, António Pedro; MONTI, Nicolas (1991), Cunha Moraes. Viagens em Angola, 1877-1897, Encontros de Fotografia, Casa Museu Bissaya Barreto, Coimbra