Hercule Florence Takes Center Stage at the World’s Largest Cultural Conservation Gathering
Getty, HERCULES Laboratory, IHF, and IMS present a scientific study shedding new light on the photographic images produced by the inventor in Brazil nearly 200 years ago.
Nearly two centuries after Hercule Florence conducted pioneering experiments in the interior of São Paulo using the action of light to create images, new scientific analyses are helping to reveal how the artist and inventor developed processes that place him among the precursors of global photography.
The results were presented on September 17 in Oslo, Norway, during the 21st Triennial Conference of the ICOM-CC (International Council of Museums – Committee for Conservation), one of the most important international gatherings dedicated to cultural heritage conservation. Held from September 14 to 18, 2026, the event brought together conservators, heritage scientists, art historians, curators, and museum professionals from various countries around the theme "Cultural Connections in Conservation."
The study Remote Visions: Hercule Florence's Photographic Innovations in Brazil is the result of an international collaboration between the Getty Conservation Institute (GCI), the HERCULES Laboratory at the University of Évora, the Instituto Hercule Florence (IHF), and the Instituto Moreira Salles (IMS).
The research presents the findings of scientific analyses performed on three photographic artifacts produced by Florence in 1833: two pharmacy labels — belonging to the IHF and the IMS — and a Masonic diploma from the IHF collection.
Experiments Spanning Two Centuries
In his quest to reproduce images, Florence conducted various experiments involving light-based image printing, carefully documenting them in his diaries. In these records, he described procedures utilizing elements such as silver, gold, water, and even urine.
The objects — still visible nearly 200 years later — were examined by a team of conservation specialists led by Art Kaplan of the Getty Conservation Institute and António Candeias of the HERCULES Laboratory. Techniques employed included stereomicroscopy, Attenuated Total Reflection Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (ATR-FTIR), X-ray fluorescence (XRF), and scanning electron microscopy (SEM-EDS).
According to Kaplan, "most people in the conservation field working with this type of material agree these are indeed some of the oldest photographic objects — not just in the Americas, but perhaps in the entire world".
The initial results were presented in May 2023 during the International Seminar "190 Years of Hercule Florence’s Photographic Experiments," organized by the IHF and the IMS in São Paulo. Since then, Art Kaplan has continued the investigation at the Getty Conservation Institute in Los Angeles, delving deeper into the fixing and stabilization processes used by Florence.
Gold and silver reveal Florence’s pioneering work
Analyses confirm that the two pharmacy label proofs were produced using gold (Au) as the image-forming metal. The intensity of the gold signal is directly linked to image density, highlighting Florence’s pioneering use of gold salts — an innovation not recorded among other early photography pioneers to this day.
Regarding the Masonic certificate, researchers identified silver (Ag), confirming for the first time that it was the metal responsible for forming the image.
The team also conducted laboratory reconstructions of the procedures described in Florence’s diaries, written in 1832 and 1836. Tests confirmed the effectiveness of the stabilizers mentioned by the inventor — water, urine, and ammonia — under accelerated aging conditions.
Among the processes tested, the one using gold demonstrated greater light stability, regardless of the fixing method. However, analyses of the original objects yielded no direct evidence of the fixing agents, likely due to their high-water solubility and spectral overlap with the paper.
Kaplan states that he cannot fully understand how the materials were stabilized. “It is probably because they are all water-soluble. So, when Florence placed these images back in water to remove that material, most of it — if not all — would wash away”, he explains.
A Brazilian chapter in the history of photography
The presentation of Remote Visions at the 21st ICOM-CC Triennial Conference helps fill an important gap in the history of photography and reinforces Hercule Florence’s place among its pioneers.
His experiments were conducted independently in Brazil, far from the European centers where other inventors were simultaneously developing processes that would give rise to photography. New scientific evidence allows for a more precise understanding of the originality of Florence’s solutions and the significance of his discoveries.
The research does not end in Oslo. Further analysis of the photographic processes experimented with by Florence will continue to be conducted by Art Kaplan at the Getty Conservation Institute laboratories. Future results may shed even more light on the artist-inventor’s discoveries and on a chapter in the history of photography that began in Brazil nearly two centuries ago.
Watch the video featuring comments from the scientists who participated in the analysis:
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Seminário internacional 190 anos dos experimentos de Hercule Florence
O evento marca a celebração dos vários pioneirismos de Florence no campo da produção de imagens pela ação da luz e a divulgação dos resultados das análises físico-químicas, realizadas em 2022 e 2023 em uma parceria IHF, IMS, Getty Institute, Universidade de Évora e Laboratório HERCULES.
