The oldest photo in Germany has been found in Munich.
There's been a significant discovery that challenges the widely accepted belief that photography was born in 1839. Cornelia Kemp, a researcher at the German Museum, found an even older photo while conducting research for her book "Light - Image - Experiment". This image, captured in 1837, depicts the Frauenkirche in Munich. Apparently, this is Germany's oldest confirmed photo.
Previously, it was believed that the first photos from Germany were taken in 1839, with Franz von Kobell and Carl August von Steinheil being the ones to create those pioneering photographs. However, this new discovery pushes that timeline back by two years.
Kemp stumbled upon the four by four centimeter-small photo in the museum's archives. Originally, it was thought that the first German photos dated back to 1839, the same year when Louis Daguerre made his invention known to the world in a grand ceremony in Paris. But this new find suggests that photography in Germany actually started earlier than that. The image was a salt paper negative, and Kobell himself had marked the back of it with the month and year of its creation - March 1837.
The Frauenkirche looks almost otherworldly bright against the dark sky in this picture. Due to the thick paper Kobell used, only a negative image was possible at the time. Interestingly, the photo is also reversed, making it even more intriguing. While the exact date of when this photo was taken isn't clear, it's evident that the exposure lasted for several hours. The towers of the church are only vaguely visible, suggesting that Kobell was probably experimenting with different techniques.
As a result of the fragile state of this historical treasure, it won't be exhibited permanently. Instead, it'll be kept in a special cooling depot to maintain its survival. This means that the public won't be able to see the photo in its original form.
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- This discovery of an older photograph in Munich has raised questions about the origins of photography in Bavaria, an historically significant region of International photography.
- The Munich-based researcher, Cornelia Kemp, discovered the lost property of a 1837 salt paper negative photograph in the museum's archives, shedding light on Bavaria's early contributions to photography.
- As the oldest confirmed photograph in Germany, this historical find from Munich reaffirms Bavaria's rich cultural heritage and its impact on the development of photography on a global scale.
Source: www.ntv.de
