名称: Four Sisters/四姐妹
类别: Albumen Print/蛋清照片 
日期: 1870
尺寸: 20x24cm 

 
名称: Baiyun Temple, Beijing/北京白云观
类别: Albumen Print/蛋清照片 
日期: 1870
尺寸: 20x24cm 


Gustave Richard Lambert/G.R.Lambert (1846-1907) was a German photographer who founded his studio in Singapore on April 10, 1867. At a time when several major studios closed due to fierce competition among foreign photographers, Lambert seized the opportunity to expand his business. His entrepreneurial skill soon earned him the reputation of being the “star photographer of Singapore.” In the 1880s, he entrusted the management of the Singapore studio to his partner Alexander Koch and returned to Europe. From the mid-1890s to the early 1900s, Koch expanded operations by establishing branches in Sumatra, Kuala Lumpur, and Bangkok. The studio under his direction was appointed official photographer to King Chulalongkorn of Siam and Sultan Abu Bakar of Johor, a mark of its prestige.   

古斯塔夫·理查德·兰伯特/G.R.兰伯特（Gustave Richard Lambert，1846-1907）是一位德国摄影师，1867年4月10日在新加坡创立了摄影工作室。当时外来摄影师数量增加，市场竞争激烈，使得几家大型摄影工作室相继关门。兰伯特敏锐地抓住机会，不断拓展业务，不久便被誉为“新加坡明星摄影师”。19世纪80年代，他将新加坡业务的管理权交给合伙人亚历山大·科赫（Alexander Koch），自己返回欧洲。自19世纪90年代中期至20世纪初，科赫继续扩展事业，在苏门答腊、吉隆坡和曼谷设立分号，其主持的工作室更曾被暹罗国王朱拉隆功和柔佛苏丹阿布巴卡尔任命为官方摄影师，足见其地位之高。

Lambert’s studio became notable not only for portraiture but also for its innovative attempt to produce printed images as a substitute for costly albumen photographs. These works, depicting urban landscapes, architecture, and local customs of Singapore and Southeast Asia, gained wide popularity across the region. By the turn of the 20th century, Lambert’s studio was recognized as possessing one of the most comprehensive visual archives of Southeast Asia, encompassing around 3,000 subjects covering Siam, Singapore, Borneo, Malaya, and parts of China. 

The artistic value of Lambert’s oeuvre lies in his synthesis of documentary precision with aesthetic sensibility, capturing both colonial urban growth and indigenous cultural life. Today, his photographs and prints are highly regarded in art history and photography studies. Collections of Lambert & Co. are preserved in major institutions such as the National Archives of Singapore, the British Library, and the Musée Guimet in Paris, where they continue to serve as essential records of 19th-century Southeast Asia. The studio, however, closed its doors permanently in 1918, marking the end of an influential chapter in the region’s photographic heritage. 

兰伯特的摄影工作室不仅以肖像闻名，还因尝试用印刷图像取代成本高昂的蛋白照片而具有创新性。这些作品以新加坡及东南亚的城市景观、建筑与风俗为题材，在当时广受欢迎。到20世纪初，该工作室被公认为拥有最全面的东南亚影像资料库，涵盖暹罗、新加坡、婆罗洲、马来亚以及中国部分地区，题材约达三千种。

兰伯特的艺术价值在于他将纪实性的影像与美学感受相结合，不仅记录了殖民城市的发展，也展现了当地的文化生活。如今，兰伯特工作室的摄影作品被新加坡国家档案馆、大英图书馆及巴黎吉美博物馆等重要机构收藏，成为研究19世纪东南亚的重要史料。1918年，兰伯特摄影工作室正式关门谢业，结束了这一具有深远影响的摄影篇章。 >>返回>>