Human Body as an Object of Study of the European Photography of the Second Half of the 19th Century
The article explores the interrelation between the invention of photography and the bodily practices in use in the European culture of the 19th century. Photography is considered as an instrument of self-discovery: different photographic genres provide certain links between the viewer and his or her body. The essence of photography as a medium reflects some contradictory processes in the culture where it became a universal tool for exploring the worlds of both matter and spirit.