A journey through Jean Laurent’s photography: the particular case of Toledo

Abstract

From the development that photography experienced during S. XIX marked a historic milestone for getting an image of an object or person to be fixed on a plate or paper. The various techniques developed will allow a significant advance in photography and the professionals of the same. At the moment in which the photography expands world-wide, Spain proved to be a suitable country that to photograph and to show the rest of Europe, mainly by the romantic current present at that time. Thus, several foreign photographers decide to move to this country to obtain captures of monuments, views of emblematic cities, religious or public buildings or the living conditions of the native population in order to obtain an economic return from both inside and outside Spain. Jean Laurent, will be one of these photographers who managed to consolidate himself as a successful businessman, inventor and professional photographer. This will take him to travel throughout the Spanish and Portuguese geography in search of material of great artistic and monumental value to export to the European population. Toledo will be one of the cities most photographed by the brand J. Laurent and Cia, this is verifiable by its appearance in the various printed catalogs from 1863-1896.