It’s not hard to see who in this equation is going to have the most fun – although that was surely not Rejlander’s point. On one side, he loses a wayward son to figures of debauchery, most of them represented by naked women on the other, he encourages an upright son toward sober allegories of marriage, charity and learning. A bearded old man stands at the centre of the composition, the apex of a low triangle. Using 32 different negatives, some of single figures, some of small groups, he created the monumental Two Ways of Life (Hope in Repentance). In 1857, Victorian photographer Oscar Rejlander exhibited what is still considered his most important work. His explanation: ‘When I compare what I have done with what I think I ought to do, and someday hope I shall do, I think of myself as only an amateur, after all-that is to say, a beginner.Please log in to bookmark this story. “What we hope comes through in the exhibition is Rejlander’s humanity and humor, as well as his humble nature, particularly evident in the fact that he often sent his work to exhibitions under the name ‘amateur'. Contemporary artists can learn much from Rejlander's wit and humor and integrate them in a now more serious and informative digital age. To this day, the body of work of English innovator remains understated. Oscar would bring in the streets to his studio too by finding models and props that would befit his vision. Coleman as Belphegor, about 1857, The Royal Photographic Society Collection at the V&A, acquired with the generous assistance of the Heritage Lottery Fund and Art Fund, mage © Victoria & Albert Museum, London Bad Temper, negative about 1865 print later, The Royal Photographic Society Collection at the V&A, acquired with the generous assistance of the Heritage Lottery Fund and Art Fund, Image © Victoria & Albert Museum, London Lewis Carroll, 1863, Image: by Oscar Gustave Rejlander (British, born Sweden, 1813 - 1875)Įveryday life was also a key theme in his early work – he would stage his studio in a domestic setup, have them recreate tender and familial scenes. His photographs, though made a century and a half ago, are both meticulously of their time and timeless, presaging the achievements of the photographic medium, through the digital age.” Although technology has changed drastically, some of the fundamental issues that Rejlander labored with in his photographs still resonate with photographic practice today. “Rejlander strongly believed that ‘the mind of the artist, and not the nature of his materials, makes his productions of art. Thus, the nickname, the "Father of Art Photography".
It was in 1856 when he made the famous Two Ways of Life, an allegorical work in which he used montaged combination printing. One of the first experts in photomontage, he also explored with combination printing, in which he would expose multiple parts of negatives then print them as a single picture.
He also was one to provoke unique and exaggerated emotions out of his subjects, in pursuit of emotional portraits – the series The Expression of the Emotions in Man and Animals (1872). The model is positioned in the lighted part of the studio, and would have to look into the darker part of the room where the camera and photographer are placed – this would make the model's eye pupils expand, giving "more depth and expression". Paul Getty Museum, Los Angeles, Oscar Gustave Rejlander (British, born Sweden, 1813 - 1875), by Oscar Gustave Rejlander (British, born Sweden, 1813 - 1875)Īlready known for his unique methodology, he also constructed an iron, wood, and glass "tunnel studio", which helped him greatly on the dramatic lighting. Eh!, negative about 1854 - 1855 print about 1865, The J.