Negersklavin Bahia (Black Slave Bahia)
Sensitive Content
The names of the subjects in this portrait are unknown. It is widely understood by scholars of the period that people of color generally did not give informed consent to be photographed nor were they offered compensation. This image provides insight into history; however, The Posen Library does not condone these practices or oppression of any kind.
This carte-de-visite photograph was made at a time when photographs the size of visiting cards were popular. Some were mass produced, for sale to the public. People collected and traded photographs of celebrities, but also “ethnographic” pictures of subjects considered exotic, such as this one of an enslaved woman posed with an infant in a sling on her back, her hand resting on what might be a melon.
Credits
Leibniz Institute for Regional Geography, Archive for Geography, SAm21-0064.
Published in: The Posen Library of Jewish Culture and Civilization, vol. 6.
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Painters, Sculptors, and Photographers
1750–1880
All over the world, Jewish art reflected the hybrid nature of Jewishness, including the material circumstances and cultural milieu of the larger environment. Individual artisans and artists selected and created according to their personal and Jewish experiences.
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