Alberto Henschel

Alberto Henschel
The photographers Alberto Henschel (right) and Constantino Barza in 1870
Born13 June 1827
Berlin, Germany
Died30 June 1882(1882-06-30) (aged 55)
Rio de Janeiro,[a] Brazil
NationalityGerman-Brazilian
Occupation(s)Businessman, photographer
TitlePhotographo da Casa Imperial (Photographer of the Imperial House)

Alberto Henschel (13 June 1827[1] – 30 June 1882[2]) was a German-born Brazilian photographer born in Berlin. Considered the hardest-working photographer and businessman in 19th-century Brazil,[3] with offices in Pernambuco, Bahia, Rio de Janeiro, and São Paulo,[4] Henschel was also responsible for the presence of other professional photographers in the country, including his compatriot Karl Ernst Papf—with whom he later worked.[3]

Henschel became known for making pictorial representations of Rio de Janeiro as a landscape photographer[1][5] and for being an excellent portraitist.[6] He earned the title of Photographo da Casa Imperial (Photographer of the Royal House),[1] allowing him to photograph the everyday life of the Brazilian monarchy during the Reign of Pedro II, even photographing the emperor Dom Pedro II[7] and his family.[8] This title would give his photographs increased recognition and raise their price.[9]

But his principal contribution to the history of Brazilian photography is his photographic record of the different social classes in Brazil in the 19th century: portraits, usually in the carte de visite format, taken of the nobility, of rich tradesmen, of the middle-class, and of black people, either slaves or free,[2] in a period before the Lei Áurea.

  1. ^ a b c Ermakoff 2004, p. 174.
  2. ^ a b Ermakoff 2004, p. 175.
  3. ^ a b Vasquez 2000, p. 11.
  4. ^ Vasquez 2000, p. 109.
  5. ^ CCBA – Centro Cultural Brasil-Alemanha. "Conheça os fotógrafos, Alberto Henschel" (in Portuguese). Archived from the original on 24 June 2007. Retrieved 29 March 2008.
  6. ^ Ferrez 1953, p. 82.
  7. ^ Vasquez 2000, p. 114.
  8. ^ Vasquez 2000, p. 115.
  9. ^ Muaze, Mariana de Aguiar Ferreira (2006). "Os guardados da viscondessa: fotografia e memória na coleção Ribeiro de Avellar". Anais do Museu Paulista: História e Cultura Material (in Portuguese). 14 (2). São Paulo: 73–105. doi:10.1590/S0101-47142006000200004. ISSN 0101-4714.