Nude photography, 1840-1920
Almost all those involved with photography in its early years were artists of some sort or other – either by profession or as a member of a class where a study of art was considered to be a part of the education of any lady or gentleman. It was indeed W. H. F. Talbot’s failings at landscape drawing that spurred him into the studies that led to his invention of the Calotype, while the professional Daguerre was looking for an easier means to produce his dioramas, translucent painted depictions of city scenes which altered as they were illuminated from behind, with which he entertained a paying public.
