Antonio Beato (1835–1906), also known as Antoine Beato, was an Italian-British photographer. He is noted for his genre works, portraits, views of the architecture and landscapes of Egypt and other locations in the Mediterranean region. He was the younger brother of photographer Felice Beato (1832–1909), with whom he sometimes worked. Antonio and his brother were part of a small group of commercial photographers who were the first to produce images of the Orient on a large scale. Life and work Little is known of Antonio Beato's origins and early life. He was probably born in Venetian territory sometime after 1832, and later became a naturalised British citizen. His elder brother Felice Beato, at least, was born in Venice, but the family may have moved to Corfu, which had been a Venetian possession until 1814 when it was acquired by Britain. Antonio often used the French version of his given name, going by Antoine Beato. It is presumed that he did so because he mainly worked in Egypt, which had a large French-speaking population. The existence of a number of photographs signed "Felice Antonio Beato" and "Felice A. Beato", led many scholars to assume that there was one photographer who somehow photographed at the same time in places as distant as Egypt and Japan. In 1983, it was shown that "Felice Antonio Beato" represented two brothers, Felice Beato and Antonio Beato, who regularly worked together, sharing a signature. The confusion arising from the signatures continues to cause problems in identifying which of the two photographers was the creator of any given image. Virtually nothing is known about his training in photography. He may have become interested in photography through his brother, Felice, who is believed to have met the British photographer James Robertson in Malta in 1850, and purchased photographic equipment in Paris in around 1851, and later that year accompanied Robertson to Constantinople in 1851. Antonio joined his brother and Robertson in Malta in around 1853. A partnership, known as "Robertson & Beato" was formed in late 1853 or early 1854 in Pera, Constantinople. However, it is not entirely clear whether it was Antonio or Felice who was involved in the partnership. Some scholars believe that it was in fact, Antonio. By the 1850s, tourist travel to Middle East created strong demand for photographs as souvenirs. Beato, and his brother were part of a group of early photographers who made