View source for Hippolyte Bayard


'''Hippolyte Bayard''' '', <small>born 20 January 1801 in Breteuil-sur-Noye, died 14 mai 1887 in Nemours</small>'', was the inventor of a photographic process. Since 1837 he could produce persisting ''photograms'' by means of his self-developed ''direct positive process''<ref>About the direct positive process: "It involved exposing silver chloride paper to light, which turned the paper completely black. It was then soaked in potassium iodide before being exposed in a camera. After the exposure, it was washed in a bath of hyposulfite of soda and dried." (from Wikipedia)</ref>. Thus he was one of the inventors of photography since its invention was officially acknowledged in 1839 by the French government, but [[Daguerre]] and [[Niépce]] named as its official inventors. Bayard applied for acknowledgement of his invention just before that official proclamation. He even organised the World's first public exhibition of photographs in the Salle des Commissaires-prisseurs in Paris, one month before the government's proclamation. But Arago, the responsible officer and member of the academy of science, neglected Bayard's efforts. 30 paper images achieved by Bayard's direct positive process were shown at the exhibition.

For his 1840 self-portrait he mimed a drowned person. This was easier for him since he could photograph himself with closed eyes - exposure time was 12 minutes. The self-portrait as half-naked man made him the first avantgarde photographer of the World. Concerning him as inventor of photography he reached his goal of persisting images through his direct positive process as soon as [[Daguerre]] with his daguerreotype process. [[William Henry Fox Talbot|Fox Talbot]] even reached that goal 2 years earlier in 1835. But the first who achieved persisting photographs was [[Niépce]] in 1827 with his experimental process.

Bayard soon learned [[Daguerreotype]] and [[William Henry Fox Talbot|Talbotype]] photography, the photographic processes of his inventor concurrents. He became a renowned [[photographer]]. In 1851 he was co-founder of the Société Héliographique.

{{Flickr_image
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|image= http://farm3.staticflickr.com/2609/5711488112_2c72120457.jpg
|image_align= left
|image_text= l'Ordre, by Hippolyte Bayard
|image_by= Museum of Photographic Arts Collections
|image_rights= pd
}}

{{Flickr_image
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|image= http://farm4.staticflickr.com/3262/2660835671_7f50cae0ea_m.jpg
|image_align= 
|image_text= Le Noyé (The Drowned)<ref>Bayard wrote onto this famous photograph's back: ''The corpse which you see here is that of M. Bayard, inventor of the process that has just been shown to you. As far as I know this indefatigable experimenter has been occupied for about three years with his discovery. The Government which has been only too generous to Monsieur Daguerre, has said it can do nothing for Monsieur Bayard, and the poor wretch has drowned himself. Oh the vagaries of human life....! ... He has been at the morgue for several days, and no-one has recognized or claimed him. Ladies and gentlemen, you'd better pass along for fear of offending your sense of smell, for as you can observe, the face and hands of the gentleman are beginning to decay.''<br/>This was meant as protest note against his efforts' neglection by the French government. H. B. 18ieme October of 1840"</ref>
|image_by= Juan Carlos M. Rosas
|image_rights= (C)
}}
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==References==
<references/>
==Links==
*[http://www.flickr.com/photos/uwe_kulick/galleries/72157631825995989/ images by and hommages to Hippolyte Bayard] in a flickr gallery
*[http://www.facebook.com/pages/Hippolyte-Bayard/152976528947 Hippolyte Bayard] on facebook

[[Category:Famous photographers|Bayard]]
[[Category:French people|Bayard]]