When the first Olympics of the Modern era were held, at Athens in 1896, they were officially covered by only seven photographers taking less than 100 pictures in total. By comparison, photographers working for Getty Images at Rio 2016 took 1.5 million pictures alone. Five Greek, one American and one German photographer were commissioned to record the photographically at Athens 1896. The most important among them was the German Albert Meyer, who was superior to the other photographers both technically and aesthetically. At least 56 pictures were taken by him, the most famous of which was of the marathon winner Spyridon Louis. Meyer died penniless in 1923 after losing his fortune in the German hyperinflation crisis.