PHOTOGRAPHY IN SPAIN AND
PORTUGAL
Photography in Spain
The study of the last decades of the nineteenth
century and first of the twentieth shows the conso-
lidation of Spanish-born photographers against the
common presence of foreign studios in the first
decades of photography in Spain. Portraits and
views of cities were still the main source of income,
and studios in Madrid (Franzen, 1864–1923; Kau-
lak, 1874–1933), Barcelona (Audouard, 1856–1919;
Esplugas, 1852–1929); and other cities become more
and more sophisticated with the use of backdrops
and props to place the sitter in the atmosphere he
wished. Also, portrait studios were the first to col-
laborate with the emergence of the illustrated press.
Blanco y NegroandNuevo Mundomagazines were
founded in the early 1890s, but they only began
publishing photographic articles after 1895–1896
using material produced by the studios of Amador
(1863–1939), Brangulı ́ (1879–1945), Campu ́a
(1870–1936), Franzen Company (c. 1850–1910),
and Fernando Debas (active 1870–1897).
Among the pioneers of modern photojournalism
in Madrid, Alfonso Sa ́nchez Garcı ́a (1880–1953)
stands out; he worked forNuevo Mundo,El Her-
aldo,El Sol, andEl Imparcial, but his son, Alfonso
Sa ́nchez Portela (1902–1990), rose to surpass him.
Starting professionally at 16 years old publishing a
gallery of popular characters inEl HeraldoandEl
Liberal, he captured the public image of the main
personalities of the period (Machado, Unamuno,
Valle Incla ́n), and he produced successful feature
articles, such as the only interview of Abd-el Krim
(leader of the Moroccan guerrillas fighting Spain).
Other photojournalists of this period were Cam-
pu ́a, Company, Luis Escobar (1887–1963), Fran-
cisco Gon ̃i (1873–1936), and Diego Gonza ́lez
Ragel (1893–1951). Gon ̃i, who died in the Civil
War, most likely as a result of his royalist leanings,
took photographs of the Royal Family that cap-
tured their everyday activities with spontaneity.
Luis Escobar (1887–1963) opened a studio in Alba-
cete and collaborated with several magazines; he
depicted every level of society with great humor.
Despite the tendency of magazines to be up-to-date
technologically (Blanco y Negroreproduced color
images from autochromes in 1911), photographers
were poorly considered; and even as of 1930, of all
the press photographers in Madrid, only one,
Alfonso, had a permanent contract.
Progressively, photography was used in other
fields—in science and humanities (the famous Iberian
sculpture theDama de Elchewas photographed the
day after its discovery in 1897), or for industrial and
commercial uses (Francisco Ferna ́ndez Trujillo’s
images of shipbuilding, 1915–1962). And the Spanish
middle class started using the camera. The still scarce
research has revealed names such as Amo ́s Salvador
(1845–1922) and Liborio Porset (c. 1850–c. 1820),
who produced an extensive collection of portraits
and informal scenes similar to Jacques Henri Larti-
gue. Others, like Frederic Bordas, combined their
hobby (mountaineering) with photography. Photo
clubs were founded (Real Sociedad Fotogra ́fica in
1899; Club Fotografico Barcelone ́s, 1894). Pictorial-
ism reigned; amateur photographers soon surpassed
the number of professionals in these clubs, where
they valued artisan processes (gum, carbon, bromoil)
and scenes with remembrance of Victorian collages,
between them the mythological scenes of Joaquim
Pla Janini (1879–1970), or the Don Quixote series
by Luis de Ochara ́n (active 1890–1910).
In this pompous maelstrom, a few approached
more direct documentation in an attempt to recover
‘‘Spanish’’ types, habits, and landscapes, and they
obtained international recognition in salons and pub-
lications. Without doubt, the most renowned was
Jose ́Ortiz Echagu ̈e (1881–1980), whose major work
was published in four books (Tipos y Trajes,Espan ̃a
Mı ́stica, Pueblos y Paisajes,andCastillos y Alca ́zares)
and who mastered the direct Fresson process. Also,
Pla Janini (1879–1970) evolved in the same direction
withhisseriestitledSpain of Work and Mysticism.In
the 1920s, certain international influences can be
traced, such as the GermanNeue Sachlichkeitor
‘‘New Objectivity’’ in Emili Godes’ (1895–1970)
advertisement and scientific photographs, the city-
scapes of Joaquim Gomis (1902–1991) and the
close-ups of Aurelio Grasa (1893–1972); or the dra-
matic lighting and collages of the Russian avant-SPAIN AND PORTUGAL, PHOTOGRAPHY IN