Charles Clifford and the photographs of popular architecture in the mid-nineteenth century in Spain

Abstract

This article investigates the rare views of vernacular architecture taken by the British photographer Charles Clifford in the mid-nineteenth century while he traveled around Spain to comply the obligations and commitments of commercial projects carried out under a sponsorship or a professional assignment. We document and theorise, from the strategies and interests of the expression and communication of architecture, the reasons of the choice of this extraordinary theme in the context of his photographic production. In addition, two exemplary cases are specifically analysed to draw conclusions on technical and compositional aspects.