Augusto Stahl

Who was Augusto Stahl?

Theóphile Auguste Stahl or simply Augusto Stahl, as he was known in Brazil, was a German-Brazilian photographer that lived during the 19th century. Born in Bergamo, in Italy, son of a Lutheran priest, Stahl disembarked in Recife on December 31, 1853, on board the ship Thames, of the Royal English Mail. He operated in Pernambuco until 1861, moving to Rio de Janeiro and receiving from the emperor D. Pedro II the title of Photographo da Casa Imperial, on April 21, 1862. A landscaper photographer, Stahl demonstrated interest for the tropical nature. He also documented the construction of the second Brazilian railway and the visit of Dom Pedro II to Recife, in 1858. He participated in various expositions of photographies in the 1860s. Stahl is known also for portraiting the everyday life of the Black slave.