Home   >   Culture   >   Vintage photos of Samurai in the 19th century

Vintage photos of Samurai in the 19th century

By on May 23, 2017

These are beautiful vintage photographs of Samurais taken between 1863 and 1900 in Japan.

In the 19th century, people who took photos were called camera artists, not photographers as we know today. Camera artists believed that a point-and-shoot approach didn’t exactly create artistic images. In order to protect an artist’s work and give it a unique aesthetic appeal, a style known as ‘pictorialism’ became the trend.

Pictorialism refers to an aesthetic movement by some of the greatest photographers of the time. It also means an international ‘fine arts’ style in which pictorialists manipulated an image through the use of sophisticated cameras and meticulous process to create a wide range of tones and mood. Photography and fine art painting were both used in creating dramatic landscape or portrait effects. Check out these rare photos.

 

© UNIVERSAL HISTORY ARCHIVE/UIG/GETTY IMAGES

 

About Ted Tanaka