Before Photography: Painting and the Invention of Photography

by Peter Galassi, The Museum of Modern Art (Other Contributor)

Peter Galassi argues in this book that photography was not a technical achievement without artistic roots; photography was born of the transformation in artistic outlook that, after centuries of experimentation, came to value pictures that seem to be caught by the eye rather than composed by the mind. Catalog for an exhibition at MoMA, NYC, in 1981. Includes work by Constable, Corot, Gustave Le Gray, Roger Fenton, Timothy O'Sullivan, and others. 152 pages including two gatefolds; 44 full-page reproductions of paintings and drawings, 9 in color and 38 full-page, photographic plates plus 38 text illustrations; 10 x 8.5 inches. Includes a bibliography and index to artists with brief biographical sketches.

Genres: Photography, Art

152 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1981

Reviews

[dv · Rating 4 out of 5]

A partire dalla norma albertiana della prospettiva (e dall'analisi di un'opera di Paolo Uccello e una di Degas) il libro mette in atto un interessante raffronto sulle proprietà di visione della fotografia, messe in parallelo con le tendenze pittoriche che, dalla sua nascita, hanno iniziato a imitarla. Saggio molto breve, apparato di immagini molto interessante (soprattutto i quadri).

[Justine Cheng · Rating 4 out of 5]

Galassi's claim that photography is a continuation of certain aesthetic concerns of painting and sketching is very compelling. Came to this from Krauss's "Photography's Discursive Spaces"