Following the invention of the daguerreotype and calotype processes in 1839, views of ruins, classical statuary, and the antiquities of the Mediterranean and the Orient were among the first images produced by pioneer photographers. The unique accuracy and immediacy of photographs fundamentally changed aesthetic and scholarly approaches to the artifacts of the past. This groundbreaking book explores the intellectual underpinnings of the relationship between antiquity and photography in the period 1840-1880. Drawing on the extensive collections of the Getty Museum and the Getty Research Institute, this richly illustrated volume presents an introduction to the subject, followed by a detailed discussion of the influence of photography on archaeology, an analysis of the ways antiquity is depicted, and biographical studies of two major photographers, Joseph-Philibert Girault de Prangey and William James Stillman. Portfolios of works by Maxime Du Camp, John B. Greene, Francis Frith, Robert Macpherson, Adolphe Braun, and others appear between the essays.

Antiquity and Photography: Early Views of Ancient Mediterranean Sites

Szegedy-Maszak, Andrew

Lyons, Claire L.

Papadopoulos, John K.

Stewart, Lindsey S.

Religion & Spirituality

J.paul Getty Museum

When the Aztec Empire emerged to dominate central Mexico from 1460 to 1519, vast amounts of tribute wealth flowed into the capital city of Tenochtitlan, enabling artists and architects to create sophisticated works on a monumental scale. Confronting a civilization without precedent, some Spanish conquistadors and missionaries looked to the classical past for explanations and parallels were drawn between two great empires--the Aztec and the Roman. While many studies dwell on the Aztec gods and the bloody rituals performed in their honor, this groundbreaking book examines little-known episodes in which classicism mediated a dialogue both within and between Mesoamerica and Spain. The authors engage contemporary approaches to cross-cultural analogy, shedding light on the function of monumental arts and religious spectacles and consciously classicizing traditions within empires. A foreword by Leonardo Lopez Lujan, director of the Proyecto Templo Mayor, places the comparison of Aztec and Roman empires in historical context. The publication accompanies an exhibition celebrating the bicentennial of Mexican Independence on view from March 25 to July 5, 2010, at the J. Paul Getty Museum at the Getty Villa.

The Aztec Pantheon and the Art of Empire

Arts & Photography

Pohl, John

History & Criticism

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Books by Lyons, Claire L.