Unit 31 - Specialist Location Research - Mathew Brady

Mathew Brady is one of the biggest American photographers from the 19th century. He was best known for his photographs of the American Civil War.

Brady became a student of the famous painter William Page. Together they moved around the state of New York and later ended up in New York City, where he continued to study painting with Page and also with Page's teacher Samuel F.B. Morse. Morse had met Louis Jacques Daguerre in France in 1839 and wanted to use the Daguerreotype style of painting in the U.S.. This is why a lot of Brady's earlier work are Daguerreotypes.

In order to document the Civil War, Brady had asked President Lincoln for permission. Lincoln granted him this permission and this allowed him to get access to the battlefields. It got him so close, that during the First Battle of Bull Run he barely avoided capture. The images produced of this battle were his first popular photographs.

Brady and his assistants have taken thousands of photographs during the Civil War. The popular understanding of the Civil War actually comes mainly from these images.

When we think about war photography, often people immediately think of WWII. The American Civil War, especially by us Europeans, is often forgotten. Hence why I thought it'd be an interesting thing to look at. For my research I decided to have a look at some of his war portraits, seeing as that's what I have planned for my own work.

The photographs are fantastic, in my opinion. They subjects demand respect. My knowledge of their military ranks is minimal, but I reckon Brady could make any soldier, regardless of rank, look important. The blank background is not something I'm a fan of, but it matters less in these images because of my fascination with these characters. This aspect of making the subject come across as important is something I'll try and implement in my own photographs.


Image Resources:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Mathew_Brady_1875_cropped.jpg
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:David_Dixon_Porter_-_Mathew_Brady's_National_Photographic_Art_Gallery.jpg
http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Samuel_Morse.jpg
http://content.answcdn.com/main/content/img/getty/1/8/3375818.jpg