Three old photographs of old Rio de Janeiro by Marc Ferrez

Botafogo beach, the Church of Nossa Senhora da Candelária and the Botanical Garden of Rio de Janeiro are immortalized by the lens of photographer Marc Ferrez

Set of three photographs by Marc Ferrez: Sugarloaf Mountain seen from Corcovado, the city center seen from the current Fiscal Island and the Botanical Garden. ~23cm x 16cm. Good overall condition.

Even those who have never been to Rio de Janeiro know and dream of that view of the Sugar Loaf that can only be contemplated from the top of Corcovado. This carioca postcard, in addition to an iconic landscape, is a symbol of the entire country. For this very reason, there is no shortage of photos, videos and portraits of one of the most beautiful scenes in the world. But have you ever wondered what this famous place was like in the 1880s? Well, at that time, when cameras were rare (and expensive) it was necessary to have great preparation and a lot of prestige to photograph the Marvelous City. However, a French-Brazilian, Marc Ferrez (1843 - 1923), had that honor, and he became one of the most important photographers in the history of Brazil.

Marc was born in Rio, in 1843, however, he became an orphan as a child, and moved to France, where his family lived, only returning to Brazil in his adolescence. Even so, it was in the land of thrushes that he built his career as a photographer. Initially, the young man was an apprentice in a stationery and typography shop, where he learned about photographic techniques, but at the age of 21 he opened his own studio, and, from then on, became one of the main photographers of the court, taking part in numerous expeditions.

Marc Ferrez was never a portraitist and specialized in just one genre, landscapes, when his competitors (Klumb, Stah, Leuzingerl) preferred the more lucrative portraits. In addition to the famous view from the Sugar Loaf, he recorded other memorable points of Rio de Janeiro here, such as the Botanical Garden and the Church of Nossa Senhora da Candelária, in the center of the city, with Corcovado in the background at a time when the Statue of Christ the Redeemer didn't even exist yet. Photographs of old Rio de Janeiro, especially by Marc Ferrez, are increasingly in demand.