619
invade Europe in the form of souvenirs brought home
by tourists. Prominent among them are James Robertson
(1813–1888), Francis Frith (1822–1898) and Francis
Bedford (1816–1894).
The serious economic and social problems that
Greece faced during the 1850s did not restrict the
practice of photography to the richer classes. However
the number of professional Greek photographers
remained relatively small. At the same time a new
type of photographic production aroused. 19th Cen-
tury photographic portraiture in Greece has often been
characterised for its lack of artistic or aesthetic value.
Individuality of any kind seems to be abolished by the
expressionless faces of the sitters and the characteristic
uniformity of their costumes. Among the few practitio-
ners, the work of Dimitrios Constantinou, Athanasios
Kalfas and Petros Moraites is distinguished.
Petros Moraites was born on the island of Tinos
in the Aegean Sea. He studied painting in Athens but
very soon, fascinated by the new medium, he became
involved in photography. In 1859, in collaboration with
the Greek photographer Athanasios Kalfas, he opened a
studio in Athens. The very same year, the two partners
presented photographs at the 1st Olympiad (held in
Athens) winning a silver medal for their photographic
reproductions of landscapes. Many important person-
alities of the Greek society: politicians, intellectuals,
ambassadors, actors including members of the royal
family, as well as ordinary people, posed before his cam-
era. It is assumed that around 1868, he was appointed
‘photographer to H.M. the King,’ a title bestowed for
the fi rst time on a Greek photographer.
By 1875 photography in Greece was not restricted
within the boundaries of the country’s capital. Photo-
graphic studios were also found on islands such as Syros
and Crete and in other cities such as Corinth and Patra.
The Rhomaides Brothers (Konstantinos and Aristotelis)
originally from Bucharest, opened a studio in Ioannina
and subsequently settled in Patras. In 1875 they under-
took the photographing of the excavations at Olympia
carried out by the German Archaeological Institute. This
collaboration led to their specialising in archaeological
photography, which is why they were employed almost
exclusively by most of the archaeological schools oper-
ating in Greece at that time. They established themselves
in Athens in 1876 while retaining, at the same time,
their studio in Patras. The Rhomaides Brothers also won
fame as portrait photographers, recording for posterity
many of the prominent people of their time. Well-known
photographers, such as Ioannis Xanthakis and Antonis
Milionis, received their training in their studio.
By 1891, there existed 27 photographic studios in
Greece. Among them, the photographic work of Anas-
tasios Gaziadis is of great interest since he was one of
the very few Greek photographers of this period to pho-
tograph factories, buildings and products for industrial
and advertising purposes.
Towards the end of the nineteenth century, and as
photography became mass-produced, the iconographic
interest began to change. ‘Traditional’ depictions of the
antiquities were now dull and new ideas were explored.
An interest in Greece’s social environment and political
life began to emerge; indeed, despite all the diffi culties
still involved in the photographing of moving subjects,
photographers were now to be found at events of every
kind. In addition, the Greek countryside and scenes of
everyday life are also documented, thus demonstrating
how photography can overcome its static and silent
nature and befriend reality.
Aliki Tsirgialou
See also: de Prangey, Joseph-Philibert Girault;
Architecture; Calotype and Talbotype; Robertson,
James; Frith, Francis; Bedford, Francis; Constantinou,
Dimitrios; and Moraites, Petros.Further Reading
Aspects de la Photographie Hellénique, Nice: Ministère de la
Culture Hellénique, Mairie de Nice, 1998.
Athens 1839–1900 A Photographic Record, Athens: Benaki
Museum, 2003.
Constantinou, Fani, Photographs by James Robertson ‘Athens
and the Grecian Antiquities’ 1853–1854 from the Photo-
graphic Archive of the Benaki Museum, Athens: Benaki
Museum, 1998.
Xanthakis, Alkis X., The History of Greek Photography
1939–1960, Athens: Hellenic Literary and Historical Society,
1988.
——. Filippos Margaritis The First Greek Photographer, Athens:
Photographos, 1990 (in Greek).
——. Nineteenth Century Greece through the lens of Petros
Moraitis, Athens: Potamos, 2001 (in Greek).
Yiakoumis, Haris, La Grèce Photographique et Littèraire au XIXe
siècle, Athens: Bastas-Plessas, 1997.
——, The Acropolis of Athens, Photographs 1839–1959, Athens:
Potamos, 2000.GREENE, JOHN BEASLY (1832–1856)
J.B. Greene (as he signed his work) was the fi rst photog-
rapher active in the Middle East who was also a trained
Egyptologist, and despite the handicaps of his youth and
nationality, he achieved some recognition both fi elds
during his lifetime. However, his early death resulted
in almost immediate obscurity and Greene remained
largely forgotten until the late 1970s, after his photo-
graphs were included in exhibitions for the fi rst time
since 1856 and vintage prints began to appear on the
market. John Beasly Greene is now recognized as one
of great masters of 19th century photography, admired
for his distinctive and unique proto-modernist vision.
Prime examples of Greene’s work are rare and are avidly
sought by museums and private collectors.