Periods in the history of photografhy and the matter of aura, according to Walter Benjamin

Abstract

This article addresses the periods in the history of photography proposed by Walter Benjamin in his essay A Short History of Photography, and discusses the transformation suffered by the work of art in modern times, under ther concept of aura. The periodization established by Benjamin - heydey, decline, revival - is illustrated with works from photographers referred to by the author in his text, which amis to achieve a “real understanting of the essence of the photographic art.”