Villegaignon - A black and white photo of a train on a track

Marc Ferrez was born in Rio de Janeiro in 1843, the son of a French painter who had immigrated to Brazil. He began his career as a photographer in the 1860s, working with his brother and eventually opening his own studio in Rio de Janeiro in 1875. Ferrez quickly gained a reputation for his technical skill and artistic vision, and his photographs were sought after by collectors and institutions. Ferrez's work was varied and included portraits, landscapes, architecture and urban scenes. He was particularly interested in documenting Brazil's natural beauty, and his images of waterfalls, forests and beaches captured the country's unique geography. Ferrez also photographed the people of Brazil, from indigenous tribes to urban workers, and his images provide a vivid portrait of Brazilian society in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. In addition to his work as a photographer, Ferrez was an entrepreneur and inventor. He developed new techniques for printing and reproducing photographs, including a process for making large-format prints that was widely adopted by other photographers. Ferrez also established a successful photography studio in Rio de Janeiro that employed dozens of workers and produced thousands of images. Ferrez's legacy has been celebrated by scholars and art lovers around the world. His work has been exhibited in museums and galleries in Brazil, France, the United States and other countries, and he is considered one of the most important photographers in Brazilian history. Ferrez's photographs continue to inspire new generations of artists and photographers, and his legacy as a pioneer of Brazilian photography remains strong today.