1787-1851

French Artist and Inventor

Louis Jacques Mandé Daguerre was born in 1787 to a middle-class family in Cormeilles, near Paris. He was an accomplished scenic designer who created the Diorama and invented the daguerreotype, the first practical method of making photographs.

Daguerre's artistic talent was evident at an early age. He served apprenticeships with a local architect and a stage designer in Paris. At 28 he was appointed scenic designer of the Paris Opéra. Two years later, he cofounded the Diorama, a theater in which enormous, lifelike murals and special lighting effects created the illusion of changing scenes. Audiences flocked to see famous sights such as the tomb of Napoleon, an alpine village, and Canterbury Cathedral.

To obtain the exact perspectives that were crucial for making these scenes appear real, Daguerre relied on a camera obscura. The camera, used by...