ABSTRACT
The practice of model photography originated in the nineteenth century but became fully-edged only after the First World War, primarily through the combination of two circumstances: rstly, the design model was reinstated as a preeminent tool of representation after a long period of decline; and secondly, modern architecture became increasingly enmeshed with the culture of mass media. And yet while the conditions of reproducibility allowed architects to disseminate models of all shapes, sizes and materials via printed images, this technical possibility alone does not fully account for the extent to which model photographs ourished, to the point of becoming an integral component of the Modernist repertoire. In order to unpack this historical process, it will be useful to consider the various cultural, technical and economic factors involved in it.
