Rare photographic works by foreign and Russian authors of the 19th century will be presented at the exhibition at the Béton Center for Visual Culture. Visitors will see how the art of photography developed in its early years and how it helped solve various tasks: from scientific to entertainment. The exhibition includes more than 70 photographs from the 19th century from the CVK Béton collection, most of which have never been exhibited before. The audience will be presented with photographic works by David Hill, Robert Adamson, Édouard Baldus, Henri Le Secq, Gustave Le Gray, Gavrila Ryumin, Stepan Vishnevsky, whose works represent high artistic value and are kept in famous museums in Paris, London, New York, and other cities around the world. From the very beginning of its existence, photography served various purposes, one of the most important being the documentation of information about nature and the urban environment. Photographs aided in topography and engineering, artists used them instead of live models, and architects captured significant objects in photos. At that time, photography also began to play an entertaining role, introducing people to places they had never been to in person. One of the most interesting exhibits of the exhibition is Le Gray's photomarine "Brig on Water," one of the earliest examples of photomontage in landscape. The audience will also see valuable colored stereodaguerreotypes depicting the interiors of the palace of Princess Yusupova. For more details, visit the official website. Join us on VKontakte and Telegram.