Alberto Henschel

Alberto Henschel
The photographers Alberto Henschel (right) and Constantino Barza, in 1870
Born	13 June 1827 Berlin, Germany
Died	June 30, 1882(1882-06-30) (aged 55) Rio de Janeiro,Brazil
Nationality	German-Brazilian
Occupation	Businessman and photographer
Title	Photographo da Casa Imperial (Photographer of the Royal House)

Alberto Henschel (13 June 1827 – 30 June 1882) was a German-Brazilian photographer born in Berlin. Considered the hardest-working photographer and businessman in 19th-century Brazil, with offices in Pernambuco, Bahia, Rio de Janeiro, and São Paulo, Henschel was also responsible for the presence of other professional photographers in the country, including his compatriot Karl Ernst Papf—with whom he later worked.

Henschel became known for making pictorial representations of Rio de Janeiro as a landscaper photographer and for being an excellent portraitist. He earned the title of Photographo da Casa Imperial (Photographer of the Royal House), allowing him to photograph the everyday life of the Brazilian monarchy during the Reign of Pedro II, even photographing the emperor Dom Pedro II and his family. This title would give his photographs increased recognition and raise their price.

But his principal contribution to the history of Brazilian photography is his photographic record of the different social classes in Brazil in the 19th century: portraits, usually in the carte de visite format, taken of the nobility, of rich tradesmen, of the middle-class, and of black people, either slaves or free, in a period before the Lei Áurea.

As soon as the first world maps showing Brazil were printed in the Renaissance era of Albrecht Dürer, the recently discovered country aroused the interest of the German public. Among the first attractions were the enthusiastic descriptions and illustrations of the Indians, the exotic landscapes, the abundance of wild animals and the new species of plants first conveyed in the works of Hans Staden. This was followed by the writings of adventurers and scientists such as Johann Baptist Emanuel Pohl, author of Viagem no Interior do Brasil, Empreendida nos Anos de 1817 a 1821 e Publicada por Ordem de Sua Majestade o Imperador da Áustria Francisco Primeiro (Voyage in the Interior of Brazil. Launched in the Years of 1817 to 1821 and Published by the Order of His Majesty the Emperor of Austria Franscisco First), in which he describes his journey through the country with wonder and enthusiasm, his words accompanied by luxuriant illustrations. About Rio de Janeiro, Pohl wrote: