heaven, bypassing purgatory. This photography replaced the practice of making drawings and other depictions of them as this was considered a "happy occasion." Formal portraits were the most common form of commercial photography through the end of the 19th century. Modern photography in Mexico did not begin as an art form, but rather as documentation, associated with periodicals and government projects. It dates to the Porfirio Díaz period of rule, or the Porfiriato, from the late 19th century to 1910. Porfirian-era photography was heavily inclined toward the presentation of the nation's modernization to the rest of the world, with Mexico City as its cultural showpiece. This image was European-based with some indigenous elements for distinction. Stylized images of the indigenous during the Porfirato were principally done by Ybañez y Sora in the costumbrista painting style, which was popular outside of Mexico. One of most important photographers of the Porfiriato was Guillermo Kahlo, né Wilhelm. Kahlo established his own studio in the first decade of the 1900s and was hired by businesses and the government to document architecture, interiors, landscapes, and factories. Another German-born photographer was Hugo Brehme, working at the same time as Kahlo. The two apparently did not get along, possibly since they were rivals for producing images of colonial-era buildings. Kahlo's style reflected the narratives of the period, solely focusing on major constructions and events, and avoiding the common populace, rarely having people appear in his photos. It avoided subjects that hinted at the political instability of the country at the time, such as strike actions. One major Kahlo project was the Photographic Inventory of Spanish Colonial Church Architecture in Mexico (1910), which consisted of twenty-five albums sponsored by the federal government to document the remaining colonial architecture. Kahlo's photography was used to link Mexico's pre-Hispanic and colonial past in their architecture, to Mexico's current progress, as shown in his photos of industry and infrastructure. Another pioneer of Mexican photography was Agustín Victor Casasola. Like Kahlo, he began his career in the Porfirato, but his career was focused on photography for periodicals. Again like Kahlo, Casasola's work prior to the Mexican Revolution focused on non-controversial photographs, focusing on the lives of the elite. The outbreak of civil war caused Casasola's choice of subject to change. He began to focus not only on portraits of the main protagonists (such as Francisco Villa) and general battle scenes, but on executions