There is a biography of this photographer in the book - Alinari "Vu d'Italie 1841-1941. La photographie italienne dans les collections du Musée Alinari" (Fratelli Alinari spa, 2004).
Alfred Noack was born in Dresden in 1833. He attended the prestigious art academy of his city, studying illustration and etching (xylography) with Hugo Burkner. He moved to Rome in 1856 and at first worked as an etcher for the Germanic Archaeological Institute. In Rome became a member of the Deutsche Kunstverein, a cultural association attended by the artistic German community living in the capital, and which included some prominent photographers. Noack left Rome in April 1860 and began his career as a photographer. He photographed the most important artistic cities of northern Italy, but the fulcrum of his research and great part of his energy were dedicated to the Ligurian Riviera and Genoa, where he probably moved in 1861, taking up residence in Vico del Filo, near the Cathedral. He returned to Dresden in 1863 to marry Elise Friederike Koenigsdoerfer, but the couple soon moved to Genoa, where they had two sons: Giovanni Augusto (1865-1892) and Ernesto Gualtiero (1867-1903). Alfred was a member of the Deutschen Photographen Verein and in Genoa he was active in the local Protestant evangelical community. From 1865 he was a member of the Masonic Lodge Trionfo Ligure and, from 1888, of the Società Promotrice di Belle Arti . He died in 1895, after his wife (1874) and his son Giovanni Augusto. His photographic studio continued its activities with the same name for a few years under the direction of his second son Ernesto and later under Carlo Paganini. In 1905 Paganini published the archive's catalogue (Catalogo delle vedute prodotte dallo stabilimento Fotografico Alfredo Noack. Carlo Paganini gerente-direttore). Unfortunately this catalogue doesn't allow us to distinguish between the work of Alfred and that of his successors. In 1926 the Town Council of Genoa purchased from the Paganini family the whole archive: 4000 glass negatives (wet collodion negatives and gelatin dry plate negatives) preserving the historic memory of the city and of the Ligurian region.
Elisabetta Papone
(Personal email, 26 July 2012)
Alfredo Noack
Portraits
If you have a portrait of this photographer or know of the whereabouts of one we would be most grateful.
alan@luminous-lint.com
Genealogy of Alfredo Noack
If you are related to this photographer and interested in tracking down your extended family we can place a note here for you to help. It is free and you would be amazed who gets in touch.