In the 19th century, Anna Atkins found in algae an unexpected raw material to revolutionize scientific representation through photography. Using algae and sunlight, she managed to create some of the first photographic images in history, transforming science into art.
Anna Atkins was born on March 16, 1799, in Tonbridge, in the county of Kent, in England. She grew up in an uncommon environment for a woman of her time, provided by her father, John George Children, who was a scientist and worked at the British Museum.
The fact that her father maintained close contacts with researchers and scientific institutions allowed Anna to have access to scientific knowledge that would normally not be available to women at that time.
Some of the most important images from the early days of photography were not made with a camera, but were created with plants, sunlight, water, and a sheet of sensitive paper, demonstrating Anna Atkins's creativity and innovation in the field of science and art.
