Naples: A Delousing Scene Re-Enacted in the Studio, Giorgio Sommer
Giorgio Sommer
Naples: A Delousing Scene Re-Enacted in the Studio
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Giorgio Sommer

Naples: A Delousing Scene Re-Enacted in the Studio, ca. 1870


Blatt
25.5 x 20.6 cm
Karton
32.9 x 24.3 cm
Physical Description
Albumen print mounted on cardboard
Inventory Number
St.F.1284
Acquisition
Ancient holdings. Acquired in the 19th century
Status
On display, Department of Prints and Drawings Exhibition Gallery

Texts

About the Work

Naples held great appeal for tourists not only because of its charming coastal scenery and awe-inspiring Mount Vesuvius, but also thanks to its customs and traditions. Particularly from the 1880s onwards, Italian-based photographers increasingly marketed studies of human beings that shaped and continually fuelled the cliché of the poor but carefree population of Southern Italy. With his outsider’s perspective on the Italian culture, the native Frankfurter Giorgio Sommer contributed to shaping the visual habits of tourists. For some of his genre depictions he had the models simulate supposedly everyday activities in his studio. One such staged scene idealizes poverty by showing an old woman “delousing” two street urchins. These motifs’ popularity was in fact an expression of an entirely different reality: the longing of the photographs’ buyers for a supposedly still intact archaic way of life that represented the antithesis of the industrialized society plagued by noise, hustle, and bustle.

Work Data

Basic Information

Title
Naples: A Delousing Scene Re-Enacted in the Studio
Photographer
Period Produced
School
Object Type
Physical Description
Albumen print mounted on cardboard
Material
Technique
Label at the Time of Manufacture
Bezeichnet recto unten links in der Fotografie (- kaum lesbar): #156
Bezeichnet recto unten links auf der Fotografie: Druckschriftzeile: 11618 Napoli (- nicht lesbar, stark verblasst)
Bezeichnet recto unten rechts auf der Fotografie: Druckschriftzeile: Sommer - Napoli
Captions Added Later
Bezeichnet recto unten rechts teils auf der Fotografie, teils auf dem Trägerkarton: Stempel: STAEDELSCHES; KUNST-INSTITUT

Property and Acquisition

Institution
Administration
Collection
Creditline
Städel Museum, Frankfurt am Main
Picture Copyright
Public Domain
Acquisition
Ancient holdings. Acquired in the 19th century

Work Content

Motifs and References

Iconclass

Primary
  • 61D(ITALIA) geographical names of countries, regions, mountains, rivers, etc. (ITALIA) (ITALIA)
  • 61E(NAPOLI) names of cities and villages (NAPOLI)
  • 31D15 adult woman
  • 31D17 old woman
  • 31D112 child
  • 31A571 'motherly care', delousing
Secondary
  • 31AA235 sitting figure - AA - female human figure
  • 31A235 sitting figure

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Last update

29.03.2023