Idea of Italy: Photography and the British Imagination, 1840-1900

"The Idea of Italy: Photography and the British Imagination, 1840-1900, examines the ways in which the new medium of photography influenced the British experience, appreciation, and perception of Italy in the mid-nineteenth century. Full-size plates-including many previously unpublished images-feature the work of both famous and little-known photographers, including Robert Macpherson, Calvert Richard Jones, George Wilson Bridges, Julia Margaret Cameron, Lady Anne Brassey, and James Craig Annan. Setting photography within a long history of image making that begins with the eighteenth-century Grand Tour, transformed by the inventions of William Henry Fox Talbot and Louis Daguerre, the sixteen essays in this volume explore photography as a vehicle for visual translation and cultural exchange. Maria Antonella Pelizzari is a professor in the Department of Art and Art History at Hunter College and the Graduate Center, City University of New York. Scott Wilcox is the former deputy director for collections of the Yale Center for British Art"--
A unique portrait of nineteenth-century Italy as seen through the eyes of the first generation of British photographers
A unique portrait of nineteenth-century Italy as seen through the eyes of the first generation of British photographers This book examines the ways in which the new medium of photography influenced the British experience, appreciation, and perception of Italy in the nineteenth century. Setting photography within a long history of image making—beginning with the eighteenth-century Grand Tour and transformed by the inventions of William Henry Fox Talbot and Louis Daguerre—this beautifully illustrated book features many previously unpublished images alongside the work of well-known photographers. The sixteen essays in this volume explore photography as a vehicle for visual translation and cultural exchange.