Antonio Beato

Antonio Beato British?, b. Greece, 1834-1903 Antonio Beato, along with his brother Felice (who also became a photographer) and sister Maria Matilde (who later married Scottish photographer James Robertson), was raised in Venice. During their lives, great confusion existed about the two brothers. One often was mistaken for the other, or the two sometimes were thought to be a single person. The confusion persists even today. Antonio worked largely in Egypt (where, French being the dominant language at the time, he was also known as Antoine), establishing studios first in Cairo (1862) and later in Luxor (after 1870). In the early 1850s, however, he may have begun his career with Felice and Robertson in Malta. Antonio Beato focused his attention on producing prolific views of Egypt in all formats -- large prints in several sizes, and smaller cartes-de-visite and stereographs. His work often was purchased by European and American travelers seeking mementos of their time in North Africa and the Middle East. T.W.F.