Based mostly on a large set of exhibitions in France and Brazil, the paper analyses the ways in which the urban myth of « First Peoples », corresponding to the romantic image of indigenous peoples outside of history, finds a privileged expression in photographs of indigenous peoples of Amazonia, often represented in stereotyped form. Such romantic images that crop up in the media, in art, also structure the categories of perception and interpretation of museum visitors, audiences or readers, being an essential component of the popular success of anthropology.
Photography; Indigenous peoples; Indians; Primitivism; Exhibitions; France; Brazil