068 Daguerre: Catching the Light by Simon Warner

Lecture Theatre, Leeds Art Gallery
18:00 - 18:30

To celebrate 170 years since the birth of photography in 1839, the celebrated inventor, showman and artist Louis Jacques Mandé Daguerre returns for one night only to proclaim his central role in European visual culture, in a career devoted to the exploration of light. From the unique spectacle of the Diorama to the Daguerreotype - surely the most magical of all photographic processes - M Daguerre's discoveries herald the beginning of modern times.

Forever famous as a photographer, Daguerre was already celebrated in 1820s Paris for his illusionistic stage designs that led to the huge success of the Diorama. With the aid of a working model, the ingenious operation of the Diorama theatre will be demonstrated before your eyes.

In retirement, Daguerre returned to scene painting for one last Dioramic tour de force, an ‘enlargement' of his local church that relied solely on the passage of the sun to produce changing effects. Only now, after more than a century of neglect, is this sole surviving example of his dramatic artwork being restored. You will be shown the latest pictures from the restoration project at Bry -sur-Marne, where a Daguerre museum is to open next year.

This event lasts 30 minutes and will run twice, at 19.00 and 21.30