Hippolyte Bayard's staged self-portrait as the first photographic fake
A video from the Vox Darkroom educational series recounts the story of Hippolyte Bayard, a lesser-known pioneer of photography. While Louis Daguerre is widely credited with inventing photography through the daguerreotype—presented by physicist François Arago at the Académie des Sciences de Paris in 1839—Bayard also developed a successful photographic printing technique. When the Academy refused to recognize his invention on par with Daguerre's, Bayard created an exceptionally creative response: his Self-Portrait as a Drowned Man (1840). This image is considered the first example of staged photography, breaking away from mere reproduction of reality and using the medium to express ideas, sentiments, and visions. The video is part of a didactic series exploring the origins of photographic fakery.
Key facts
- Hippolyte Bayard created the first staged photograph in 1840.
- The photograph is titled 'Self-Portrait as a Drowned Man'.
- Bayard's invention was rejected by the Académie des Sciences de Paris.
- Louis Daguerre's daguerreotype was presented by François Arago in 1839.
- The daguerreotype used silver or silvered copper plates sensitized with sodium vapors.
- The video is from the Vox Darkroom educational series.
- The story is covered by Artribune.
- Valentina Tanni is an art historian, curator, and professor at Politecnico di Milano and NABA.
Entities
Artists
- Hippolyte Bayard
- Louis Daguerre
- Valentina Tanni
Institutions
- Académie des Sciences de Paris
- Politecnico di Milano
- NABA – Nuova Accademia di Belle Arti
- Artribune
- Vox Darkroom
Locations
- Paris
- France