Similarities Between Hawes And Southworth

Before comparing each image, it is important to note the context behind each of them. Starting with Josiah Hawes’, portrait of Albert Sands Southworth, c. 1848 pictured is a deraguetype of a shirtless man, Albert Southworth, staring off the right side of the image. The purpose of this image is more artistic in nature seeing as the subject matter is more intimate, though it does not compare to the racey images of today, for 1848 this image was seen as scandalous since daguerreotypes of the time rarely ever implied nudity. Despite the racey imagery the images purpose was more of an experiment between Hawes and Southworth, and begins to demonstrate the disparity of race in the 19th century when each of these images are compared. J. T. Zealy’s, Renty, Congo, March 1850, is one of fifteen daguerreotypes that depict African American slaves posed for portraits that, though look simple and mundane at first glance, served more as scientific documentation of a species than photography of fellow human beings. …show more content…
The disparity between the two men can be read within their body language and serves as a cold reminder of the time they were taken. Hawse’s portrait of Southworth is dramatic and contrived in the body language and photographic technique that the image is exhibiting, the tilt of his head and the vignetting that focuses the lighting on Southworth’s head. In contrast Zealy’s “scientific” image of Renty is everything the previous image is not. The tonal value of the image is dark and given little importance as well as the pose, or lack thereof. However, the expression and emotion exhibited within the photo is anything but false. The humility behind Renty’s eyes contrasts greatly behind the dramatic flare which Southworth’s give