Explain why the photographic portrait was such a sensation in the first decade of
photography? Explain that obsession historically. Compare the forms of painted and
photographed portraits in 1840s.
In the first decade of photography, the idea and concept of the photographic portrait was a
huge sensation – both in Europe and the United States. The invention of the Daguerreotype
by Louis Daguerre gave people the ability to produce pictures in 3.5 to 4 minutes (very fast
for the time period.) However, it did require the subjects in the picture to be extremely still
otherwise the portraits would come out blurry. It is key to keep in mind that the process of
the daguerreotype was stiff; not the people. When Samuel Morse brought the
daguerreotype process to the United States it began a craze. In fact, 95% of all
daguerreotypes made were of portraits. People became crazy about having portraits taken
for numerous reasons.
For the first time, people were able to examine themselves in a still image. Also, it is
noteworthy that this process was much faster and cheaper than having their portraits
painted by an artist. Another key distinction that favors the daguerreotype is that it was an
exact replica, not the painters’ rendition of what he thought the subject looked like. This
new process was nerve-wracking for the subject though, because they were not able to hide
any flaws or blemishes that normally an artist could hide from the viewer. People took
these very serious, as each photo was a single copy and could not be reproduced. From the