"Monumental Journey: The Daguerreotypes Of Girault de Prangey"

Work Of Pioneer In Early Photography On View At Met

February 22, 2019

In 1842, artist, architectural historian, archaeologist, and pioneer photographer Joseph-Philibert Girault de Prangey (1804–92) embarked on a three-year photographic excursion throughout the Eastern Mediterranean, and he returned to France with more than 1,000 daguerreotypes, an unparalleled feat in the history of photography. Among the images he created are the earliest surviving photographs of Greece, Egypt, Turkey, Lebanon, Syria, and Jerusalem and among the first daguerreotypes depicting Italy.
A trailblazer of the daguerreotype process, Girault used oversize plates and innovative formats to produce what is today the world's oldest photographic archive, all in the service of a brand-new type of archaeological fieldwork. This exhibition, the first in the United States devoted to Girault, and the first to focus on his Mediterranean journey, will feature approximately 120 of his daguerreotypes, supplemented by examples of his graphic work. watercolors, paintings, and his lithographically illustrated publications.
The exhibition, which runs until Sunday, May 12 at the the Met Fifth Avenue location in New York City is made possible by the Arête Foundation/Betsy and Ed Cohen. Additional support is provided by Jennifer S. and Philip F. Maritz and the Alfred Stieglitz Society. It is organized by The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, in collaboration with the Bibliothèque nationale de France, Paris. The catalogue is made possible by the Diane W. and James E. Burke Fund.
For more information, visit www.metmuseum.org.

 

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