Henri Beck was born in Umstadt, Germany, at the turn of the nineteenth century. He came to Greece in 1834 as a non-commissioned officer in the Bavarian corps that accompanied King Otto. At the end of his military service, Beck moved to Smyrna, where he learned the art of photography. In 1850, he came back to Athens. His photographs made Athens famous in Germany. Beck’s work has a clear historical aspect, but it is also defined by a unique style of an artistic quality that is notably absent from contemporary photographers.