사진술의 초기 역사 - 다게르와 탤벗의 발명을 중심으로

Abstract

Photography, a typical example of a simultaneous discovery, appeared in two different ways: one as a new technology to replace classic paintings, and the other as a result of scientific research to deepen our understanding of the nature of light. The French painter and technician Louis Daguerre saw the Daguerreotype as a new technology, putting the world onto an ionized silver plate, while the British natural philosopher Henry Fox Talbot considered photogenic drawings as a byproduct of his optics research. It is noteworthy that there were different points of view on these issues in each country. France took pride in Daguerre’s findings and acknowledged their usefulness, whereas England considered Talbot’s work simply as a personal research result. In this respect, the history of early photography is a good starting point to understand the unique features of visual media, including photography, as characterized by convergence, and to determine the relationship between science and technology and art and society. This article touches upon the historical uniqueness of photography and looks into the detailed history of these two different inventions in connection with various factors. The study will also help us to understand that photography had the potential to merge science and technology with art from its very beginning and that the society’s perspective on this technology wielded a strong influence that shaped different identities of photography in society.