Francesco Negri (18 December 1841 – 21 December 1924) was an Italian

photographer A photographer (the Greek language, Greek φῶς (''phos''), meaning "light", and γραφή (''graphê''), meaning "drawing, writing", together meaning "drawing with light") is a person who makes photographs. Duties and types of photographe ...

known not only as a pictorialist but for his innovative work in

photomicroscopy A micrograph or photomicrograph is a photograph or digital image taken through a microscope or similar device to show a magnify, magnified image of an object. This is opposed to a macrograph or photomacrograph, an image which is also taken ...

, in the development of the

telephoto lens A telephoto lens, in photography and cinematography, is a specific type of a long-focus lens in which the physical length of the lens is shorter than the focal length. This is achieved by incorporating a special lens group known as a ''telephoto ...

, and for his early experiments in

Louis Ducos du Hauron Louis may refer to: * Louis (coin) * Louis (given name), origin and several individuals with this name * Louis (surname) * Louis (singer), Serbian singer * HMS ''Louis'', two ships of the Royal Navy See also Derived or associated terms * Lewis (d ...

’s techniques of

colour photography Color photography is photography that uses media capable of capturing and reproducing colors. By contrast, black-and-white or gray-monochrome photography records only a single channel of luminance (brightness) and uses media capable only of ...

. His scientific and cultural pursuits included

botany Botany, also called , plant biology or phytology, is the science of plant life and a branch of biology. A botanist, plant scientist or phytologist is a scientist who specialises in this field. The term "botany" comes from the Ancient Greek w ...

and

local history Local history is the study of history in a geographically local context, often concentrating on a relatively small local community. It incorporates cultural and social aspects of history. Local history is not merely national history writ small bu ...

: in both fields his publications remain significant. He served as

Mayor In many countries, a mayor is the highest-ranking official in a municipal government such as that of a city or a town. Worldwide, there is a wide variance in local laws and customs regarding the powers and responsibilities of a mayor as well a ...

Casale Monferrato Casale Monferrato () is a town in the Piedmont region of Italy, in the province of Alessandria. It is situated about east of Turin on the right bank of the Po, where the river runs at the foot of the Montferrat hills. Beyond the river lies the v ...

. In the meantime by profession he was a lawyer.

Biography

Negri was born in

Tromello Tromello is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Province of Pavia in the Italian region Lombardy, located about 35 km southwest of Milan and about 25 km west of Pavia Pavia (, , , ; la, Ticinum; Medieval Latin: ) is a town and com ...

Lomellina The Lomellina (Western Lombard: Ümlína/Lümelína) is a geographical and historical area in the Po Valley of northern Italy, located in south-western Lombardy between the Sesia, Po and Ticino rivers. It is one of three areal divisions of the ...

( PV) to Angelo Maria Negri and Maria Magnaghi who were well-off and well-connected.Samuel Butler recounts that

Cavaliere Negri, at Casale-Monferrato, told me not long since that when he was a child, during the troubles of 1848 and 1849, the King was lunching with his (Cav. Negri’s ) father who had provided the best possible luncheon in honour of his guest. The King said: “I can eat no such luncheon in times like these - give me some garlic.” The garlic being brought, he ate it along with a great hunch of bread, but would touch nothing else.

''The Note-Books of Samuel Butler'', Section XII. He attended secondary school in

Vigevano Vigevano (; lmo, label=Western Lombard, Avgevan) is a town and ''comune'' in the province of Pavia, Lombardy in northern Italy. A historic art town, it is also renowned for shoemaking and is one of the main centres of Lomellina, a rice-growing ...

, then took a law degree in

Turin Turin ( , Piedmontese language, Piedmontese: ; it, Torino ) is a city and an important business and cultural centre in Northern Italy. It is the capital city of Piedmont and of the Metropolitan City of Turin, and was the first Italian capital ...

, graduating in 1861. The following year he moved to Casale Monferrato where he married Giulia Ravizza and pursued a career in a civil law. Negri died in Casale on 21 December 1924.

Published works

* Bergaglio, B. and Cavanna, P. (2006) ''Francesco Negri fotografo, 1841-1924''. Milan: Silvana.

Notes

References

Dettaglio articolo
at www.inalessandria.it
Il Monferrato – Home
at www.ilmonferrato.it * Text can be downloaded from

Project Gutenberg Project Gutenberg (PG) is a Virtual volunteering, volunteer effort to digitize and archive cultural works, as well as to "encourage the creation and distribution of eBooks." It was founded in 1971 by American writer Michael S. Hart and is the ...

a
The Note-Books of Samuel Butler by Samuel Butler

Biography

Published works

Notes

References

Further reading