Art & Culture
When was the first photograph taken?
Approximately 1827 AD
Nicéphore Niépce created the earliest surviving camera photograph around 1826–1827 AD.
1 BC · 1 AD
Estimated range: 1826 AD to 1827 AD
Context
What happened?
The image now called View from the Window at Le Gras recorded buildings and countryside seen from an upstairs window at Niépce’s estate in France. He made it with heliography, a process that used light-sensitive bitumen and required a very long exposure.
Significance
Why it matters
The photograph is the oldest surviving image made with a camera. It preserves an early stage in the long development of photography, before later processes made exposure, reproduction, and public use much more practical.
Further reading
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