The First “Scientific Photographs” of a Sperm Whale (1890) : Francisco Afonso Chaves and the Wonderful Inaccuracy of Image
In 1890, in Paris, a text entitled « Des formes extérieures du Cachalot » was published, signed by G. Pouchet and F.-A. Chaves and illustrated with three drawings and three photographs. These are advertised as “the first scientific photographs of the whale.” Through them it is finally possible to “f...
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ftdoajarticles:oai:doaj.org/article:3656995d79834f8784f4b6aa167bc7d3 2023-05-15T18:26:46+02:00 The First “Scientific Photographs” of a Sperm Whale (1890) : Francisco Afonso Chaves and the Wonderful Inaccuracy of Image Victor dos Reis 2021-06-01T00:00:00Z https://doi.org/10.4000/imagesrevues.11090 https://doaj.org/article/3656995d79834f8784f4b6aa167bc7d3 FR fre Centre d´Histoire et Théorie des Arts http://journals.openedition.org/imagesrevues/11090 https://doaj.org/toc/1778-3801 1778-3801 doi:10.4000/imagesrevues.11090 https://doaj.org/article/3656995d79834f8784f4b6aa167bc7d3 Images Re-Vues, Vol 19 (2021) Francisco Afonso Chaves photography scientific representation visible visual Fine Arts N article 2021 ftdoajarticles https://doi.org/10.4000/imagesrevues.11090 2022-12-31T16:07:47Z In 1890, in Paris, a text entitled « Des formes extérieures du Cachalot » was published, signed by G. Pouchet and F.-A. Chaves and illustrated with three drawings and three photographs. These are advertised as “the first scientific photographs of the whale.” Through them it is finally possible to “fix the exterior features of this animal, as famous as poorly known” and therefore, as stated in the opening, ending a long era of inaccurate representations. The authors of the article are two reputed naturalists : Charles Henri Georges Pouchet (1833-1894), and the Azorean Francisco Afonso Chaves (1857-1926). Afonso Chaves is also a remarkable photographer whose work, mostly stereoscopic, remained unknown until recently. The aim of this paper is to analyse the photographs of Francisco Afonso Chaves and realize why they play a central role in the publication of 1890. As emphatically stressed by Georges Pouchet, they constitute the first scientific representations of a species hitherto poorly understood and poorly visually represented. But ultimately, what makes these photographs scientific ? And how does the visual and the visible mingle in these images ? Article in Journal/Newspaper Sperm whale Directory of Open Access Journals: DOAJ Articles Images re-vues 19 |
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Directory of Open Access Journals: DOAJ Articles |
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French |
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Francisco Afonso Chaves photography scientific representation visible visual Fine Arts N |
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Francisco Afonso Chaves photography scientific representation visible visual Fine Arts N Victor dos Reis The First “Scientific Photographs” of a Sperm Whale (1890) : Francisco Afonso Chaves and the Wonderful Inaccuracy of Image |
topic_facet |
Francisco Afonso Chaves photography scientific representation visible visual Fine Arts N |
description |
In 1890, in Paris, a text entitled « Des formes extérieures du Cachalot » was published, signed by G. Pouchet and F.-A. Chaves and illustrated with three drawings and three photographs. These are advertised as “the first scientific photographs of the whale.” Through them it is finally possible to “fix the exterior features of this animal, as famous as poorly known” and therefore, as stated in the opening, ending a long era of inaccurate representations. The authors of the article are two reputed naturalists : Charles Henri Georges Pouchet (1833-1894), and the Azorean Francisco Afonso Chaves (1857-1926). Afonso Chaves is also a remarkable photographer whose work, mostly stereoscopic, remained unknown until recently. The aim of this paper is to analyse the photographs of Francisco Afonso Chaves and realize why they play a central role in the publication of 1890. As emphatically stressed by Georges Pouchet, they constitute the first scientific representations of a species hitherto poorly understood and poorly visually represented. But ultimately, what makes these photographs scientific ? And how does the visual and the visible mingle in these images ? |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Victor dos Reis |
author_facet |
Victor dos Reis |
author_sort |
Victor dos Reis |
title |
The First “Scientific Photographs” of a Sperm Whale (1890) : Francisco Afonso Chaves and the Wonderful Inaccuracy of Image |
title_short |
The First “Scientific Photographs” of a Sperm Whale (1890) : Francisco Afonso Chaves and the Wonderful Inaccuracy of Image |
title_full |
The First “Scientific Photographs” of a Sperm Whale (1890) : Francisco Afonso Chaves and the Wonderful Inaccuracy of Image |
title_fullStr |
The First “Scientific Photographs” of a Sperm Whale (1890) : Francisco Afonso Chaves and the Wonderful Inaccuracy of Image |
title_full_unstemmed |
The First “Scientific Photographs” of a Sperm Whale (1890) : Francisco Afonso Chaves and the Wonderful Inaccuracy of Image |
title_sort |
first “scientific photographs” of a sperm whale (1890) : francisco afonso chaves and the wonderful inaccuracy of image |
publisher |
Centre d´Histoire et Théorie des Arts |
publishDate |
2021 |
url |
https://doi.org/10.4000/imagesrevues.11090 https://doaj.org/article/3656995d79834f8784f4b6aa167bc7d3 |
genre |
Sperm whale |
genre_facet |
Sperm whale |
op_source |
Images Re-Vues, Vol 19 (2021) |
op_relation |
http://journals.openedition.org/imagesrevues/11090 https://doaj.org/toc/1778-3801 1778-3801 doi:10.4000/imagesrevues.11090 https://doaj.org/article/3656995d79834f8784f4b6aa167bc7d3 |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.4000/imagesrevues.11090 |
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Images re-vues |
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19 |
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1766208745543565312 |