Interested by the universe of photography in general and concerned with mastering its techniques, formulas, and equipment, Marc Ferrez was one of the most proficient Brazilian photographers from the 19th century: he not only produced images but was involved with all the phases of the photographic process, from the capture of images to printing. Working with commissioned works, as exemplified by the photos of railways, public works, and the album of the Central Avenue, Ferrez also recorded scientific expeditions, was a photographer of the Imperial Navy, and portraitist. As a visual chronicler of Rio de Janeiro, with its views and landscapes, he helped to configure the city’s image.

He was equally a successful businessman in the areas of photography and cinema, operating with importation and commercialization of equipment; as a representative of companies such as Pathé films, Gaumont and Lumiére; and as an owner of movie theaters, the Pathé, in Rio Branco Avenue, in Rio de Janeiro. In his last years of life, in France, he focused on the business of the company Marc Ferrez & Filhos, in the cinema field and in experiences with color photography.

In 2023, the year of the hundredth anniversary of his death and 180 years of his birth, the Arquivo Nacional dedicates an issue of the periodical Acervo to Marc Ferrez. His lasting work – that is accessible today thanks to the extensive and varied records carefully kept by the photographer himself, his sons, and grandsons – offers multiple possibilities to researchers.

The dossier “Marc Ferrez: the photography as an experience” is edited by Ana Maria Mauad, PhD in Social History by the Universidade Federal Fluminense (UFF), full professor at the History Department at the UFF and researcher of the Laboratório de História Oral e Imagem (Labhoi/UFF) and Maria do Carmo Rainho, PhD in Social History by the UFF and researcher of the Arquivo Nacional.