Recreation assignment 2

Assignment 2

My photograph was taken by Napoleon Sarony.  It is said that Mr. Sarony photographed at least 30,000 celebrities and 200,000 regular people.  When he died over 500,000 negatives were found in his studio.   He was born in Quebec, Canada in 1821, the same year his namesake, Napoleon I died.  The interesting story about Mr. Sarony is that he made history by winning a lawsuit in the United States Supreme Court for a photograph of Oscar Wilde that a company used in an ad.  The case was historical because he won copyright protection of the picture and set a precedent for future cases. 

A few people that Mr. Sarony photographed were Winston Churchill, Samuel Clemens, also known as Mark Twain and Oscar Wilde, a famous author.  The most often used photo of Mark Twains was Twain’s least favorite.  He stated it was “the damned old libel” because he felt the photo was libelous against what he truly looked like, claiming he was 30 years old when he was actually 60.  The photo I chose to recreate was of Oscar Wilde, taken in 1882.  The photo is called ‘Oscar Wilde ¾ Length Sarony Portrait 1882’.  This particular photo was not the picture involved in the lawsuit.

I don’t know that this photograph is one of the most famous or well-known but Mr. Sarony photographed Oscar Wilde numerous times and the picture is recognizable as being the work of the same man.  Reading the history of this photo and seeing the pictures of Winston Churchill and Mark Twain makes you want to learn more about the man/photographer that was Napoleon Sarony.

Sarony took this shot using nothing in the background so as not to distract the eye from Mr. Wilde.  The shadowing and his pose give the picture a dramatic effect that also seems mysterious.  It appears to me that it portrays Oscar Wilde as someone of importance and wealth.  I like the somber appearance the picture gives, it appears as if he is thinking of some long ago dream or something out of his reach.  The brightness on the right side of his coat and shadows on the left make it appear as if Mr. Sarony used side lighting to create that effect.  The picture is well balanced with the amount of light and darkness, creating a line down the center for the difference.  The contrast of his hand on the dark left side gives the perspective of continuity with the lines of the jacket.

Mr. Wilde was born close to the famine and the Year of Revolution in England so I chose to photograph a woman that may have lived in that time frame.  I used vertical lines for the background as opposed to a plain wall to give the photo depth and more visual interest.  I also used shading and low vibrancy to enhance the sober face of someone who may have lived in those difficult times. I believe it also provides a bit of dramatic effect.  My photograph represents an attitude of how it may have felt at the time in history as well as to mirror the somberness of Mr. Wilde’s life.  Although he was a famous writer, his life ended sadly.  He was imprisoned for 2 years of hard labor for gross indecency after a 4 year love affair with Lord Alfred Bosie Douglas.  After he was released from prison his relationship with Lord Douglas ended and he spent his final 3 years wandering around Europe until his death in 1900.