ABSTRACT

Photography, defined alternatively as documentary and as an art form, emerged at the crossroads of art, science, and technology. It developed from a desire for a precise copy of the natural world, a desire that emerged during the Renaissance, when attention shifted from spiritual to natural phenomena. The camera obscura (“dark room”), invented in ancient times and revived in the sixteenth century, provided an initial solution by projecting views upside down onto an interior wall via a small hole. Artists could trace the contours of objects, turn their canvas right side up, and finish their work. Over the next two centuries, artists and opticians made steady improvements on the camera obscura, installing lenses to sharpen the image and mirrors to correct the inversion. Panini (Figure 1.10) relied on the camera obscura for accurate, proportional, and perspectivally correct views, as did Josiah Wedgwood, when Catherine the Great of Russia commissioned a table service showing British manor houses. During the eighteenth century, the camera lucida was invented, a portable apparatus that reflected views onto small surfaces. Artists used it, as did Grand Tourists eager to record their travels accurately.Camera obscura

Literally, “dark room.” A box with a small hole on one side through which light (and an image) passes. The image is reflected by a mirror onto a drawing surface. Camera obscuras have been used since ancient times.