Ho già avuto occasione tempo fa di parlarvi qui di quanto i nostri amati Victorians si dilettassero con le fotografie che rappresentavano per loro una vera novità, mi riferisco soprattutto alle giovani ladies che disponevano di molto tempo durante le loro oziose giornate, le quali erano capaci di creare autentici capolavori;
la fotografia era nata davvero da molto poco, era più che giovanissima, ma vi era chi traeva diletto dal giocare con le immagini, talvolta anche con una punta di spirito e di umorismo, chissà se con fare sperimentale o piuttosto con gusto per il macabro ed il desiderio di stupire ....
Seguitemi e vi mostrerò che cosa intendo !
Come ho già avuto modo di spiegarvi la cultura vittoriana era molto differente dalla nostra, aveva un rapporto diverso con la morte tanto che era usanza fare fotografie ai cari defunti vestiti come erano ogni giorno in vita, era usanza conservarne i capelli, se si trattava di donne, e farne gioielli ed ornamenti, cose queste che forse qualcuno può trovare persino di pessimo gusto, e, probabilmente, anche questi fotomontaggi taluno li troverà divertenti, taluno magari impressionanti, ma io ho deciso di proporveli perché appartengo a coloro che li trovano curiosi e soprattutto ne apprezzo la artisticità, li trovo molto ben fatti tenendo conto dei mezzi di cui si poteva disporre al tempo.
Oggi credo che i professionisti dei fotomontaggi non conoscano limiti al loro agire, allora le cose erano nettamente diverse !
Vi era allora una sorta di culto per questo genere di fotografie che rappresentavano uomini e donne senza testa
e dato il crescente interesse per lo spiritismo ed i fenomeni paranormali, erano ritenute affascinanti queste che intendevano rappresentare le sembianti di un'anima alle spalle del soggetto principale:
Master Herrod (un giovane medium) in trance: il suo spirito si separa da lui e gli appare alle spalle, ca. 1868
Moses A.Dow, Editore del Waverley Magazine, con lo Spirito di Mabel Warren, ca. 1871
mentre questa che sto per mostrarvi a me sembra quasi la rappresentazione grafica del Dottor Jekyll & Mister Hyde di Stevenson !
... insomma, bisogna ammettere che in ogni campo la creatività ai Victorians non faceva davvero loro difetto !
Dal canto mio spero di avervi divertito, stupito, ad onor del vero, piuttosto che avere mortificato la vostra sensibilità, ma se così fosse me ne scuso e vi prego, non vogliatemene...
... E se vi ho deluso spero la prossima volta di riconquistare la vostra ammirazione cui tanto tengo.
A presto ♥
Here I already had the opportunity to talk you about of, our beloved Victorians, took delight with the photographs representing a real novelty for them, I refer especially to the young ladies who possessed considerable time during their idle days, which were able to create true masterpieces ;
photography was really born from very little, it was so very young, but there were those who drew pleasure from playing with images, sometimes with a touch of wit and humor, I wonder if by doing experiments or rather with a taste for the macabre and the desire to impress ....
Follow me and I'll show you what I mean !
- picture 1
- picture 2
- picture 3
As I have already had occasion to explain the Victorian culture was very different from ours, gave a different meaning to death so much that it was customary to take pictures to loved ones as they were dressed in everyday life, it was usual to preserve their hair, if they were women, and making jewelry and ornaments, things which today maybe someone can find even in bad taste, and, probably, these photomontages too, someone will find them funny, someone maybe impressive, but I have decided to present them to you because I belong to those who are curious of culture and history, ou know, and above all I appreciate the artistry, I find them very well done with the resources that they might have had at the time.
Today I believe that professionals of photomontages don't know limits to their act, then things were much different!
There was in the Victorian age a kind of worship for this kind of pictures representing headless men and women
- picture 4
- picture 5
- picture 6
and, given the growing interest in spiritualism and paranormal, they were deemed fascinating those representing the semblance of a soul behind the main subject:
- picture 7 - the most famous of all those belonging to this kind is surely this one which depicts Mary Todd Lincoln, already a widow of her husband, whose spirit seems to want to protect her behind her shoulders (picture that dates back to early 1870), but there are other similar , less known, but not less impressive:
- picture 8 - Master Herrod (a young medium) in trance: his spirit looks separates from him and lays behind him, ca. 1868
- picture 9 - Moses A.Dow, Publisher of the Waverley Magazine, with the Spirit of Mabel Warren, ca. 1871
- picture 10 - Mrs. French of Boston accompanied by the spirit of her deceased son, ca. 1868;
or simply overlapping and duplicating the protagonists of the photography as in the one below, for example, showing us a barber and his client,
- picture 11
and this last I am going to show you it seems to me almost the graphical representation of the Dr. Jekyll & Mr. Hyde by Stevenson!
- picture 12
... In short, we have to admit that in every field the Victorians' creativity wasn't really a defect of theirs !
For my part I hope to have enjoyed you, surprised you, to be honest, rather than having mortified your sensitivity, but if it was so I do apologize and please, please accept my excuses ...
... And if I have disappointed you I hope the next time to regain your admiration I care so very much !
See you soon ♥
