In the first decades of the photographic era, portraits are made up most of the images produced. Examine this and reflect on its impact on the photographic industry, aesthetics and social identities. What if any is the relationship with our current ‘moment’?
Key sources:
John Tagg (1998) , The Burden of Representation
Geoffrey Batchen (2005), ‘’Photography: theoretical snapshots’
Graham Clarke (ed.) (1992), “The Portrait in Photography”
Max Kozloff (2007), “ The Theatre of the Face: Portrait Photography Since 1900”
Summary
John Tagg (1998) , Ch. 1 "A Democracy of the Image: Photographic Portraiture and Commodity Production" in “The Burden of Representation” , p. 34- 58
In the given article John Tagg reveals how the art of portrait photography appeared and pays attention on potential of portraiture becoming practicable for commerce and as a tool for analyzing social identity in the middle of the 19th century. Next, he states that since the moment of market expansion, photography industry requires practical changes - from craft- made images to automatised re- creations, what encouraged portrait photography to be the most best- selling form of photography. Additionally, Tagg mentioned new photography techniques after daguerreotype which affected the time of processing photographs and commercial reproduction: calotype , wet- collodion process and carte-de-visite and finally- the manual photo cameras invented by George Eastman in 1888, what affected the usage and availability of taking photographic portraits in society: people could take photographs without any professional photographers; photography was used both among bourgeoisie and common people, in police and school . Lastly, John Tagg summarized that availability to get photo-portraits fostered photographs to be not only as a commodity but also as a means of documentation, storytelling and new meaning of identity.
Geoffrey Batchen (2005), 'Dreams of Ordinary Life: Cartes de Visite and the Bourgeois Imagination' in ‘’Photography: theoretical snapshots’’, p. 80- 97
Geoffrey Batchen states in the outlined article that the photographic technology carte-de-visite introduced by André Disdéri in 1854 brought immense contribution in the development of photographic industry in the XIX century, which becomes the most commercially successful form of portrait photographs . The author also pays attention on popularity of cartes among bourgeoisie- they were the main attribute of upper classes. Then, the author mentioned that the obvious reasons why carte-de-visite becomes accepted by the public : the possibility to get pictures faster, cheaper prices and massive reproduction, what caused the capacity of getting the image of any preferred persona as it was with the replication of Queen Victoria portrayal. Additionally, carte-de-visite were vital in political purposes as implementation of capitalism which started to prosper in the outlined timeline. Additionally, Batchen points out the psychological and social meaning of innovative photo technique- maintaining banalism of the photograph, carte-de-visite were considered as storage of memory and a source of candid feelings depicted in it. Summing up the information given in the text, the author states that the practice of carte-de-visite made the influence on social interaction and provided the serious step to the evolution of photo industry as well - without this invention the history of portrait photography could have been changed radically.
Graham Clarke (ed.) (1992), Ch. 1 “ Nadar and the Photographic Portrait in Nineteenth- Century France” in “ Portrait in Photography”, p. 6- 24
In the Chapter “ Nadar and the Photographic Portrait in Nineteenth- Century France” , Graham Clarke introduces readers to the French journalist, caricaturist and especially talented photographer of 19th century Felix Nadar, who become famous not only because of Pantheon- Nadar lithography but also because of celebrity photographs and original methods of making visual bibliography: starting from painting portrait- charges , Nadar shifted to portrait photography, where his main priority was the creation of accurate psychological character using appropriate lighting, close angle and accentizing the face of a sitter. Next, Clarke makes some notes about the novelist Honore de Balzac- his methodology of fictional characters’ filing made a huge impact on Nadar’s comprehension of portrayed people and how to capture different social identities. Further, the author mentioned other photographers to show contrast in aesthetics and also reflected the level of commercial photographic rivalry. Lastly, the author emphasized the effective photo practice and priceless biographical record Nadar made in 19th century France.
Max Kozloff (2007), Ch. 1 “Retrospection and Clairvoyance” in “The Theatre of the Face. Portrait Photography Since 1900”, p. 12- 73
The art critic Max Kozloff in the first chapter of the book “The Theatre of the Face. Portrait Photography Since 1900” analyzes the further perspective of portrait photography mentioning the chronology between the end of the 19th to the beginning of the 20th century by encompassing the art work and philosophy of famous photographers of presented time: Benjamin Stone, Edward Sheriff Curtis, Lewis Hine, Edward Steichen and others. Then , the author compares how portrait photography was distributed by upper classes in different timelines mentioning Belle Epoque as an example. Furthermore, Kozloff emphasized the importance of the aesthetics of pictorialism in portrait photography, which has affected on technical part of photo practice. Finally,the author states that every photographer of this time had their own aim they expected to get in the image: to capture historical memory using communities; represent the value of identity and show originality in every photographed face ; to provide the significant meaning in politics; but the crucial message maintained photographic portraiture is to produce the photographs of lasting human presence which will remain memorable forever.
References:
Warner Marien, Mary (2018), “The Second Invention of Photography” in ”Photography: A Cultural History. 4th Edition” , p. 23- 72