Nadar & Naser al-din Qajar

Naser al-din shah Qajar King of Iran, photographed by Nadar

Nadar & Naser al-din Qajar  

Naser al-Din Shah Qajar, king of Persia 1848-1896

Photographer: Nadar (Gaspard-Félix Tournachon)

Naser al-din Shah was the first Iranian to be photographed. Later he became interested in photography and became a patron of photography in Iran and played an important role in promotion and development of this field in Iran.

Naser al-Din Shah was very interested in painting and photography. He was a talented painter, and even though he had not been trained, was an expert in pen and ink drawing. He was one of the first photographers in Persia and was a patron of that art. He established a photography studio in Golestan Palace.

About photographer:

Nadar  (1820-1910)
French photographer 

Nadar, Self Portrait

Nadar opened his first photography studio in 1854, but he only practiced for six years. He focused on the psychological elements of photography, aiming to reveal the moral personalities of his sitters rather than make attractive portraits. Bust- or half-length poses, solid backdrops, dramatic lighting, fine sculpturing, and concentration on the face were trademarks of his studio. His use of eight-by-ten-inch glass-plate negatives, which were significantly larger than the popular sizes of daguerreotypes, accentuated those effects. 

At one point, a commentator said, "All the outstanding figures of [the] era--literary, artistic, dramatic, political, intellectual--have filed through his studio." In most instances these subjects were Nadar's friends and acquaintances. His curiosity led him beyond the studio into such uncharted locales as the catacombs, which he was one of the first persons to photograph using artificial light.

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