PAST EXHIBITION

The French Daguerreotype in the Musée d'Orsay collections

May 27, 2008—September 7, 2008

In the late 1830s, a common desire to fix images created in the camera obscura resulted in two very different processes. The sharp, glittering clarity of the French invention was answered by the depth and soft shadows offered by the paper calotype developed by Fox Talbot in England. The metal plate offered precise outlines and fine detail. In contrast, the calotype emphasised the overall composition and play of light through the balance of masses and density of shadow.

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