Of Battle and Beauty: Felice Beato's Photographs of China - Hardcover

Harris, David

9780899511016: Of Battle and Beauty: Felice Beato's Photographs of China

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0899511015 ISBN 13: 9780899511016

Publisher: University of California Press, 2000

Accompanying the British Army during its decisive foray into China in 1860, Felice Beato (1820-1907) was the first photographer to document a military campaign in progress. He captured not only the immediacy of war, the aftermath of battle, and strategic military positions, but also the sumptuous new Summer Palace (seen by few Chinese and even fewer foreigners) before its destruction by the British. His photographic record of the Second Opium War consisted of approximately one hundred images, including a number of panoramic views, which survive in the form of private albums originally compiled by British officers as a record of their victorious campaign. One such album, now in the collection of Jane and Michael Wilson, is presented here.
In addition to providing a strikingly beautiful glimpse of nineteenth-century China, these images also reveal how photography functioned as an integral component of British imperialism by shaping perceptions about a distant country and its culture. Essayist David Harris provides an overview of Beato's work in China, and his extensive catalog notes describe and contextualize each of the photographs.

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Synopsis:

Accompanying the British Army during its decisive foray into China in 1860, Felice Beato was the first photographer to document a military campaign in progress. This album of his photos was compiled by British officers as a record of their victorious campaign.

About the Author:

David Harris is an independent curator and from 1989 to 1996, he was associate curator of photography at the Canadian Centre for Architecture in Montreal.

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