Looking beyond the hero of the republic and the photographer of the empire. Porfirio Díaz and photography

Authors

  • Arturo Aguilar Ochoa ICSyH Alfonso Vélez Pliego, México

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.24310/Fotocinema.2021.vi22.11639

Keywords:

Porfirio Díaz, photography, François Aubert, Mexico, memory, 19th century

Abstract

After just over five years of fighting the French Intervention, the Habsburg Emperor Maximilian was finally defeated and shot in the medians of Cerro de las Campanas in Queretaro in 1867. The Republic returned triumphant, and its architects began to glimpse new positions of power, such was the case of General Porfirio Diaz, who feeling worthy of the triumph, more than President Benito Juarez, saw in the photograph the possibility of spreading his image among the people, and thus gaining followers in the future electoral contest. The Oaxacan general resorted to the services of the most famous photographers of the moment, such as Frenchman François Aubert, who gladly responded to the request. Then, the present work has the purpose of analyzing the historical context in which Diaz went to the studios to have his portrait taken. It also explores Aubert's activity as a photographer in Mexico, his time at the court of Maximiliano, his trip to Querétaro to document the fall of the empire and his return to the capital to witness the entry of Juárez and put himself at the service of Porfirio Díaz.

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Author Biography

  • Arturo Aguilar Ochoa , ICSyH Alfonso Vélez Pliego, México

    Mexican he was born in 1963. He studied History at UNAM, obtaining his degree with honors, with the thesis "Photography during the Empire of Maximilian 1864 - 1867", later published by the Institute of Aesthetic Research at UNAM. From 1992 to 1995 he studied for a Master's Degree in Mexican History and then for a Doctorate in Art History at the same School of Philosophy and Letters, with the thesis "History of Mexican Lithography in the 19th Century". He has worked as a full-time professor at the Universidad de las Américas, Puebla, in the Faculty of Political and Social Sciences of the UNAM and is currently a Professor-Researcher at the Institute of Social Sciences and Humanities, "Alfonso Vélez Pliego" of the Benemérita Universidad Autónoma de Puebla.

References

Published

2021-01-26

Dimensions

PlumX

How to Cite

Looking beyond the hero of the republic and the photographer of the empire. Porfirio Díaz and photography. (2021). Fotocinema. Revista científica De Cine Y fotografía, 22, 23-48. https://doi.org/10.24310/Fotocinema.2021.vi22.11639