Nicéphore Niépce

Nicéphore Niépce was a French inventor who made the earliest surviving permanent photograph and developed heliography, an early photographic process.

View from the Window at Le Gras: A heliographic image made by Niépce around 1826 or 1827, widely regarded as the oldest surviving camera photograph. This image is the surviving result of Niépce’s experiments with permanent camera images.
Bitumen of Judea: A naturally occurring asphalt used in early photographic experiments because light makes it less soluble in certain solvents. Niépce coated plates with bitumen to form images through selective hardening.
Louis Daguerre: A French artist and inventor who developed the daguerreotype, an early commercial photographic process. Daguerre continued work on photography after partnering with Niépce.
Daguerreotype: A photographic process that produces a detailed image on a polished, silver-coated copper plate. Daguerre’s process became the first widely announced photographic method after Niépce’s death.
Heliography: An early photographic process developed by Niépce that used light-sensitive coatings to create images or reproduce prints. Niépce named and developed the process behind his surviving photograph.
Photochemical reaction: A chemical change initiated by the absorption of light. Heliography records light through chemical changes in a coated surface.
Isidore Niépce: The son of Nicéphore Niépce who helped promote his father’s photographic discoveries after his death. Isidore negotiated the public recognition of Niépce’s contribution.
Calotype: A photographic process patented by Talbot that uses a paper negative to make multiple positive prints. Its reproducible negative-positive method contrasted with the unique images of Niépce’s process.
Camera obscura: An optical device or darkened room that projects an external scene through a small opening onto an interior surface. Niépce sought to fix the projected camera obscura image permanently.
Silver chloride: A light-sensitive compound that darkens when exposed to light. Niépce tested silver chloride before adopting bitumen for his durable images.

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