Niépce's plates on display at The National Media Museum


Only 16 heliographic plates by Joseph Nicephore Niépce are known to be still in existence. Three of them are now part of The Royal Photographic Society Collection. These extraordinary images on pewter plates, brought to England by Niépce himself in 1827, will be visible from March 20th till June 21st in the exhibition Drawn by Light orginized by The National Media Museum in Bradford, UK.

niepce-lune                           niepce-christ                           niepce-cardinal

 

The exhibition includes work by pioneers of photography such as Julia Margaret Cameron and Roger Fenton and as well works by some of today’s most influential figures: Don McCullin, Terry O'Neill, Martin Parr and Steve McCurry.

In 2010 these plates were analyzed by GCI scientists Dusan Stulik and Art Kaplan who conducted the first scientific investigation on image layer and image formation.

 

 

Images:

1. Un Clair de Lune, c. 1827, Joseph Nicéphore Niépce, The Royal Photographic Society Collection © National Media Museum, Bradford / SSPL. Creative Commons BY-NC-SA
2. Christ Carrying his Cross, 1827, Joseph Nicéphore Niépce, The Royal Photographic Society Collection © National Media Museum, Bradford / SSPL. Creative Commons BY-NC-SA
3. Le Cardinal d’Amboise, 1826, Joseph Nicéphore Niépce, The Royal Photographic Society Collection © National Media Museum, Bradford / SSPL. Creative Commons BY-NC-SA