Interpretation
Seeking to elevate photography to the status of fine art, Rejlander created The Two Ways of Life in imitation of traditional history painting. His photograph illustrates the protagonist’s allegorical choice between vice and virtue, with lust, gambling, and idleness represented on the left side and righteous prayer, marriage, and charity on the right. After photographing each figure and background separately, Rejlander combined more than thirty negatives to create this complex scene. Although nineteenth-century viewers were accustomed to seeing nudes in paintings and in sculpture, the presumed verisimilitude of Rejlander’s nudes made the work controversial. His image sparked intense debate regarding the use of nudity in photography and the merits of Pictorialism’s painterly effects in comparison with more ostensibly factual photography. Despite the controversy, Queen Victoria purchased the work as a gift for Prince Albert when it was shown in the Manchester Art Treasures Exhibition in 1857.
Information
- Title
- The Two Ways of Life
- Object Number
- x1993-22
- Medium
- Albumen print
- Dates
- 1857
- Dimensions
- 10.5 x 19.7 cm. (4 1/8 x 7 3/4 in.) mount: 22.4 x 19 cm. (8 13/16 x 7 1/2 in.)
- Credit Line
- Museum purchase, anonymous gift
- Culture
- British
- Place made
- Europe, England, Wolverhampton
- Inscriptions
- Inscribed in ink on page, upper right corner: 54
- Techniques
- Edgar Yoxall Jones, Father of Art Photography: O.G. Rejlander, 1813-1875 (Greenwich: New York Graphic Society, 1973).
- Peter C. Bunnell, The Photography of O.G. Rejlander: Two Selections (New York: Arno Press, 1979).
- "Acquisitions of the Art Museum 1993", Record of the Art Museum, Princeton University 53, no. 1 (1994): p. 46-95., p. 70, p. 75
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The Museum regularly researches its objects and their collecting histories, updating its records to reflect new information. We also strive to catalogue works of art using language that is consistent with how people, subjects, artists, and cultures describe themselves. As this effort is ongoing, the Museum’s records may be incomplete or contain terms that are no longer acceptable. We welcome your feedback, questions, and additional information that you feel may be useful to us. Email us at collectionsinfo@princeton.edu.
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