205
[Costumes of Switzerland], a theme to which he returned
in 1871 after the Franco-Prussian war when he portrayed
two women costumed as Alsace and Lorraine. With sons
Henri and Gaston supervising, a project to photograph
artworks in museums occupied Braun from about 1866
on. The reproduction of works of art soon became the
mainstay of the company, remaining so until well into
the twentieth century. After Adolphe Braun died on
December 31, 1877 (preceded by son Henri), Gaston
Braun continued the work of the fi rm which underwent
several name changes becoming Braun, Clément et Cie
in 1889 and Braun et Cie in 1910.
See Also: Wet Collodion Negative; Woodburytype,
Woodburygravure; Poitevin, Alphonse Louis;
Collodion-albumen; Woodburytypes; Mungo Ponton;
Walter B. Woodbury; Alphonse Poitevin; Joseph
Wilson Swan; and Carbon.
Further Reading
Boyer, Laure, Adolphe Braun et la reproduction photographique
des oeuvres d’art [Adolphe Braun and the reproduction of
works of art], Dissertation, University of Strasbourg, 1998.
Kempf, Christian, Adolphe Braun et la Photographie [Adolphe
Braun and Photography], Strasbourg: l’Association Lucig-
raphie, 1994.
O’Brien, Maureen C. and Bergstein, Mary, eds., Image and
Enterprise: The Photographs of Adolphe Braun, Providence:
Museum of Art, Rhode Island School of Design and London:
Thames & Hudson, Ltd., 2000.
Rosenblum, Naomi, “Adolphe Braun: A Nineteenth Century
Career in Photography,” History of Photography, vol. III, no.
4 (October 1979), 357–372.
Rosenblum, Naomi, “Adolphe Braun Revisited,” Image, XXXII
(June 1989), 1–14.
Tyl, Pierre, Adolphe Braun, photographe mulhousien [Adolphe
Braun: Photographer of Mulhouse], Dissertation, University
of Strasbourg, 1982.BRAZIL
The fi rst reference in the Brazilian press to the inven-
tion of photography occurred on May 1st 1839, when
the newspaper Jornal do Commercio, based in Rio de
Janeiro, published an extensive article on the daguerreo-
type, which was offi cially unveiled in Paris later that
year, on August 19th 1839. The new process of im-
age-making was then introduced in Brazilian soil soon
after its European announcement. In January 1840, the
French abbot Louis Compte arrived in Rio de Janeiro on
board the school-ship L’Orientale with a daguerreotype
camera. He demonstrated the new medium by taking
three pictures of the central area of Rio: one view of
the Imperial Palace, another one from the Candelaria
Market and a picture of the beautiful fountain nearby,
designed by the Portuguese architect, Mestre Valentim.
In March of the same year, the future Emperor of Brazil,
D. Pedro II, who was then a 14-year-old boy, purchased
himself a daguerreotype equipment, becoming the
very fi rst Brazilian photographer. Today we know very
little about these early pictures taken by D. Pedro II.
More signifi cant is the fact that his great interest and
enthusiasm for photography were fundamental to its
development in Brazil. The Emperor not only supported
various photographers around the country, granting the
title of “Photographer of the Imperial House” to 23
professionals between 1851 and 1889, he was also the
fi rst Brazilian collector of photographs, accumulating
during the course of his life more than 20,000 examples
of Brazilian and international photos, representing a
wide range of subjects. After being exiled from Brazil
in 1889, D. Pedro II donated his precious collection to
the National Library, based in Rio, where it is now kept,
under the title of “Coleção D. Thereza Christina Maria,”
in homage to his wife.
The hallmark of the introduction of photography
in Brazil is the fact that it was carried out mainly by
foreigners—Americans and Europeans—who often
changed their fi rst names into the Portuguese version.
Driven by the ambition of making money in a relatively
new country, with very little competition, and lured byBRAZIL
Braun, Adolphe. Deer and Wildfowl.
The Metropolitan Museum of Art, David Hunter McAlpin
Fund, 1947 (47.149.54) Image © The Metropolitan Museum
of Art.