(Darwin, Charles) — Oscar Gustave Rejlander | One of his favorite portraits, signed by himself and the photographer

(Darwin, Charles) — Oscar Gustave Rejlander

Seated portrait of Charles Darwin, signed by Darwin and Rejlander, 1871

Albumen print on carte-de-visite mount (101 x 60 mm), signed ("Ch. Darwin") and ("O.G. Rejlander") on the verso, "Copyright" in manuscript on the recto of the mount; faded, one or two instances of slight wear at edges.

One of Darwin's favorite portraits, signed by Darwin and by Rejlander.

Oscar Rejlander was an extremely important collaborator for Darwin. He had wanted to use photographs to illustrate his book The Expression of Emotions in Man and Animals, but found it difficult to obtain images with the desired facial expressions. After an extensive search, he eventually found Oscar Rejlander, a Swedish photographer now often referred to as "the father of art photography."

Julia Margaret Cameron studied with Rejlander, and Darwin may have learned of him through Cameron herself, whom he had visited in 1868. Darwin and Rejlander were introduced in 1871, and this striking seated portrait was one of several that Rejlander made in 1871 or 1872. Upon seeing them, Darwin declared these “The best photographs of me” in response to an editor's request for a portrait (Darwin Correspondence Project, letter 8003).

Rejlander was more than a documentary photographer—he brought the nascent technology into the realm of art. He utilized both natural and artificial methods to compose his photographs, and Darwin found his ability to manipulate the images of his subjects extremely useful. Darwin’s first known reference to the photographer is in a letter from 7 April 1871: “I am ... now rich in photographs, for I have found a photographer in London. Rejlander, who for years has had a passion for photographing all sorts of chance expressions exhibited on various occasions, especially by children, and taken instantaneously” (Darwin Correspondence Project, letter 7666). The Expression of Emotions was published in 1872, and Rejlander became Darwin's principal advisor on photography, and gave to the naturalist more photographs of expressions than any other photographer.

Photographs signed by Darwin are very scarce. A lovely portrait, signed not only by Darwin, but also by one of his advisors and collaborators.

REFERENCE:

Darwin Correspondence Project, letter 8003, 7666