One of the most famous images by Georges Leuzinger, one of the pioneers of photography in Brazil: Pedra de Itapuca in Niterói.
Photograph of the Itapuca Stone, in Niterói, by Georges Leuzinger.
14.4 cm x 9.8 cm.
~ 1867.
Rio de Janeiro.
Good condition of conservation.
Unique piece.
Of all the pioneering photographers in Brazil, Georges Leuzinger (1813 - 1892) was the one who best understood the commercial possibilities of Brazilian photography. Born in Switzerland, he came to Rio de Janeiro at the age of 19. He began selling lithographs and, realizing the new potential of photography, began selling engravings by renowned artists from the late 1850s onwards.
After a few years, Leuzinger began taking photographs on his own. Very talented in his compositions, he won photography awards, the first ever given to a Brazilian photographer, notably in Paris at the 1867 Universal Exhibition. At the same time, he hired a German photographer who produced the first images of Indians and the Amazon. Leuzinger was also one of the first to discover the extraordinary views of the Rio de Janeiro mountains and to highlight the colonial architecture of downtown Rio de Janeiro.
Pedra de Itapuca is a rock formation located on Icaraí Beach, in the municipality of Niterói, in the state of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. It was listed in 1985 by the State Institute of Cultural Heritage and is a traditional surfing spot in the city. "Itapuca" means "split rock" in the Tupi language.
Leuzinger is one of the first photographers in Brazil. The photographs found in Brazil are generally in poor condition, while those rarely found in Europe or the United States are of better quality, like this one recently found in France.
