The History of the Photographic Self-Portrait Part 3

In the last post it was highlighted that the pioneering photographers of the 19th Century needed to be technicians as much as artists.  The technology of photography was just emerging, with different techniques and methods to producing an image, with the most obvious candidates being the daguerreotype and the Calotype.  Each method required its own process, which consequently led towards the photographer being more of a technician solving issues and problems rather than an artist expressing their individual sense of creativity.

However, there was the odd exception, such as a collaboration between Southworth and Hawes or Hill and Adamson, below, both examples of an artist and a scientist working together.  This image appears to be more posed than the Robert Cornelius photograph in the previous post and there is more intention to show an English gentleman, dressed in fine clothes that mark out his status in society. 

It is also an early example of the self-portrait emulating the style of the portrait painting, such as the three quarter length composition, but there is also an attempt to make the photograph more spontaneous than a formal portrait.  By having the self-portrait taken with the subject leaning against the wall, it becomes reminiscent of a pose that is trying to be more relaxed than the stiff and formal portraits created by painting in the middle of the 19th century.   Unfortunately though the intended spontaneity is somewhat lacking, not due to the intention falling short, but the technology at the time required lengthy shutter speeds upwards of a couple of seconds.  This lead to the photograph appearing to be stiff and formal purely because the sitter couldn’t move and had to remain stiff and rigid for about 2 seconds upwards. 

Consequently, this reliance on machinery and science put photography at odds with the Romanticist movement and would be seen as a craft rather than an artistic endeavour.  Indeed, with the rapid expansion of the professional photographer, photography was cemented into being something functional, a technique that could be relied upon and needed no creative input.  The automation and the functionality of photography was a blessing and a curse, it ensured its popularity but also condemned it to being relegated to the belief of it being just a craft.  Another factor to consider is how the photograph would actually fit with, for example, the romantic aesthetic of strong emotion when stylistically the early photographs lacked any sense of movement.  This was due to the long exposures and the person having to stand still for a few seconds which would stifle any sense of being spontaneous but would appear stiff and formal.

By the mid to late 19th century, photography studios were appearing on the high street, catering for the new middle classes by having their images captured and preserved.  Indeed, the first ever photography studio opened in New York the year following Daguerre’s reveal in Paris.  In 1840 Alexander Walcott opened the Daguerrean Parlour offering tiny portraits and was followed in 1841 by Richard Beard opening a studio on the roof of the Royal Polytechnic Institution in London.  This was made possible because of the reliability of the processes of photography meant that it could be offered as a trade. 

As photography had just been invented, and despite the difficulties presented by

romanticism, the style for the self-portrait was mainly informed by painting.  It seemed that both of these types of media were dealing with the same thing, reproducing representations of the physical world.  This approach can be seen in the example on the right, where the main focus of the painting is to reproduce a lifelike and recognisable representation of the sitter.  Everything looks in proportion, with the format of having a sideways half length portrait being popular.  It is these types of techniques that informed the first photographs, the identity, style and representation of the body was following the history of painting and adopted the principles of that media.  But as time progressed the standards and expectation of photography were to change quite drastically. 

Initially, one of the strongest features of the early self portraits is for the sitter to be recognisable, one of the four elements mentioned at the beginning of this series.  For instance if we apply these elements to Robert Cornelius, we can see that the key role of the self portrait is one of recognition.  This reflects that the self portrait was more of an experiment, testing the technique and equipment and not to capture some essence of humanity or being animated enough to form and hold a pose.  It is also the same with Nadar in the catacombs, which feels more like an attempt to show himself with the use of his innovation with technology rather than capturing a strong resemblance of his physicality.  Indeed, it’s almost like an anonymous holiday photograph where the subject poses with a famous object or scene and is more concerned with stating they were there rather than being a character study.

However, the three original elements merge together in this self portrait of Nadar.  His physicality is shown within the portrait as it’s obvious he was standing in front of the camera and he also demonstrates the ability to strike a pose with the hand in his pocket and looking straight at the viewer.  But there is also a sense of character, an element of humanity within the image, something that suggests there is an inner life within that representation, something that is capable of thinking, feeling and acting with agency.  This is mainly due to his gaze looking directly at the viewer, making eye contact, and so produces a sense of presence within the photograph. It also demonstrates how identity is being split into two separate parts, the physicality and the character of Nadar.  His physical identity is confirmed because of the realistic representation of Nadar and his personhood is then confirmed by the effect of making eye contact with the viewer. 

It is this sense of personhood that shows the beginnings to what would evolve

into humanistic photography that slowly grew in the 19th century and then gathered pace in the 20th century.  It was this expression of personhood that would be informed by identity and is the part that falls between the expression of character and the physical representation of the photographer.  To show the four aspects merging together with equal and harmonious measure, there is fig5.  The person portrayed is clearly recognisable and there can be no ambiguity about his physical identity being Albert Sands Southworth.  There is also the character being expressed, there is a tenderness and vulnerability to the photograph that can be ascribed to Southworth and so can be assumed to be part of his character.  It is also clear that he has struck a pose, that he is looking out of the frame and produces a sense of dialogue because it raises the question, what is he looking at?  Then, lastly, there is a sense of personhood, that this is representation of more than just a body or a character, but is also a representation of a state of being, something that makes Southworth human and a singular being.  All four elements of self-portraiture have combined to make an image that was decades ahead of its time as most self-portraiture tended to reflect the pose and style of romanticism and copy the standards of portrait painting.