1827 Joseph Nicéphore Niépce – First Permanent Photograph

“View from the Window at Le Gras” by Joseph Niépce marked the birth of photography.

In 1827, Joseph Nicéphore Niépce's "View from the Window at Le Gras" achieved a fundamental breakthrough in the history of photography by capturing the first permanent image. This milestone transitioned image capturing from ephemeral camera obscura sketches to a lasting chemical process. Niépce's heliography, utilizing light-sensitive asphalt (Bitumen of Judea), set the foundation for photographic techniques that continue to influence technological advances today.

Niépce developed his heliographic process in the early 1820s as part of his experiments with lithography. It has been suggested that he was driven by the need to find a mechanical means of reproducing images due to his inability to draw. The photograph was produced using a camera obscura and required an exposure time of several hours, which indicated the primitive state of this technology but also its revolutionary potential.

His innovation of fixing onto a pewter plate, ushered in the era of permanent photography. With this photograph, Niépce’s achievement profoundly impacted artistic expression and scientific documentation. The legacy of his initial experimentation is evident in the enduring evolution of photography, from early prints to modern digital formats, affecting both art and science in profound and lasting ways.

Credit: Joseph Nicéphore Niépce, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
Author: Niépce, J. N. (1827).
Title: Point de vue du Gras
Date: Photo circa 1827. Scanned circa 2002.
Archive: Harry Ransom Center’s Gernsheim collection, The University of Texas at Austin
Source: Wikimedia Commons
Original file: 2100 x 1806 pixels, file size: 4.5 MB
Description: 300dpi scan of the first successful permanent photograph from nature.
Available information: Heliograph on pewter, 16.7 x 20.3 x 0.15 cm.

Image credit left: Exhibit in the Harry Ransom Center - University of Texas at Austin, Austin, Texas, USA, Daderot, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons. Image credit: Daderot. (2015). 1827_Joseph Nicephore Niepce. File: View_from_the_Window_at_Le_Gras,_by_Joseph_Nicephore_Niepce,_1826_or_1827,_France_-_Harry_Ransom_Center_-_University_of_Texas_at_Austin_-_DSC08424.jpg

Image credit right: Nicéphore Niépce, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons, Available information: Enhanced version by the Swiss Helmut Gersheim (1913–1995), performed ca. 1952, of Niépce's View from the Window at Le Gras, (Harry Ransom Humanities Research Center, University of Texas, Austin)View from the Window at Le Gras, the first successful permanent photograph created by Nicéphore Niépce in 1827, in Saint-Loup-de-Varennes (Saône-et-Loire, Bourgogne, France). Captured on 20×25 cm oil-treated bitumen. Due to the 8-hour exposure, the buildings are illuminated by the sun from both right and left. Date: 1827, Medium: heliography, pewter and bitumen Edit this at Wikidata, Object type: photograph / heliography.

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Photography’s earliest milestones established its very possibility as a medium. These foundational firsts secured permanence, enabled reproduction, expanded into scientific observation, and entered the circulation of published knowledge. In doing so, they demonstrated that photography could move beyond isolated experiments. Together, they defined the framework for the medium to grow and endure—forever changing what we are able to see, and how seeing it shapes our thinking.

1827 JOSEPH NICÉPHORE NIÉPCE – FIRST PERMANENT PHOTOGRAPH
Produced the first stable image on a pewter plate, proving that light-sensitive chemistry could fix a visual record permanently.

1835 WILLIAM HENRY FOX TALBOT – FIRST NEGATIVE
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1837 LOUIS DAGUERRE – FIRST SURVIVING DAGUERREOTYPE
Produced Still Life in Studio, a positive, unique image of remarkable clarity that proved photography could capture and share the visible world with a fidelity beyond drawing.

1840 JOHN DRAPER – EARLIEST IMAGE OF THE MOON
Captured the Moon with a daguerreotype, extending photography beyond Earth and positioning it as a tool for astronomical research and scientific discovery.

1843 ANNA ATKINS - FIRST BOOK OF PHOTOGRAMS
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