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This
photographic
creation
incorporates a
number of Sommer's
studies of the
picturesque
"types" found on
the streets of
19th century
Naples. At the far
left, the
pipe-smoking man
sitting in a
basket is a
"lazzarone" or
tramp. The man in
uniform next to
the far door-frame
is a
"Bersagliero," a
member of a
military unit
known for their
plumed hats. The
wine-drinkers--
and presumably the
other figures as
well--could all be
purchased as
separate
photographs.
Vesuvius, which is
billowing smoke in
the distance, was
also a frequent
subject for
Giorgio Sommer.
It
is difficult to
know the precise
techniques used to
create this
picture--it may
combine
photomontage (in
which sections of
several images are
printed together
onto the same
piece of
photographic
paper) with
photocollage,
where pieces of
several
photographs are
cut out and pasted
together. In any
case, a great deal
of touching up by
an artist is
evident, and the
floor looks like
it was entirely
created with a
paintbrush. Certainly
"The Tarantella"
violates the stern
dictum of Henry
Peach Robinson,
that "no departure
from the truth of
nature shall be
discovered by the
closest scrutiny."
It doesn't take
much scrutiny to
see that the
children sitting
on the floor are
gazing intently in
the wrong
direction, and
they are out of
proportion with
the rest of the
figures. The tramp
also seems to be
looking away from
the frenzied
dancers.
But
none of this
apparently
bothered Sommer's
customers, as this
image has survived
in several formats
and seems to have
been a strong
seller.
The
Tarantella is a
folk dance that
originated
hundreds of years
ago. Tradition has
it that in the
15th to 17th
centuries a wave
of tarantism, a
form of melancholy
thought to be
caused by the bite
of a tarantula,
swept a city in
southeastern
Italy. The only
treatment was to
engage the victim
in energetic
dancing to a
particular melody
until the symptoms
subsided.
Unfortunately,
the photographer has failed to
heed another part of
Robinson's advice: "in making
a photograph of a large group,
as many figures as possible
should be obtained in each
negative, and the position of
the joins so contrived that
they shall come in places
where they will be least
noticed, if seen at all." The
mistake can be seen when
looking at the pattern of the
floor. Because the camera has
been moved between exposures,
the regular checkerboard
pattern on the floor has
turned into a crazy-quilt. To
the right, the woman in the
dark dress has apparently had
her feet cut off, giving her
the appearance of
levitating.
Anyone
who has ever tried to take a
photograph of this many people
can attest to the difficulty
involved in obtaining a
harmonious picture with
pleasing expressions on every
face. The maker of this group
portrait may have thought the
technique of photomontage
offered a winning solution--
for, as Henry Peach Robinson
wrote, it enables the
photographer "to devote all
his attention to a single
figure or sub-group at a time,
so that if any part be
imperfect from any cause, it
can be substituted by another
without the loss of the whole
picture, as would be the case
if taken at one operation. By
thus devoting the attention to
individual parts,
independently of the others,
much greater perfection can be
obtained in details, such as
the arrangement of draperies,
refinement of pose, and
expression."
