Frisch, Albert (c. 1840–1918)

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Frisch, Albert (c. 1840–1918)

Albert Frisch (b. ca. 1840; d. 1918), German pioneer of anthropological photography. Frisch journeyed from Europe to the upper Brazilian Amazon region, especially on the Solimões River in the early 1860s to record the indigenous population. He posed them as noble savages, sometimes contriving or alternating backgrounds so that his subjects appeared as living sculptures. His works were displayed at the Paris Universal Exposition of 1867 before any other photographer recorded images of the indigenous populations of North America, the Far East, or Africa. Little is known about Frisch's life. He did not stay in Brazil, but contracted with the Leuzinger Studio in Rio de Janeiro to sell his prints.

See alsoPhotography: The Nineteenth Century

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Ferrez, Marc. A fotografía no Brasil, 1840–1900. Rio de Janeiro: Fundacao Nacional de Arte, 1985.

Lago, Bia Correa do. Brésil, les premiers photographes d'un empire sous les tropiques. Paris: Gallimard, 2005.

Vasquez, Pedro. Fotógrafos alemães no Brasil do século XIX. São Paulo: Metalivros, 2000.

Vasquez, Pedro. A fotografia no Império. Rio de Janeiro: Jorge Zahar, 2002.

                                   Robert M. Levine