La photographie avec l’hypnose : comprendre l’hystérie
Photography with Hypnosis: Understanding Hysteria
Stephanie Garcia – March 12, 2023
How and why did Charcot use photography together with hypnosis in order to make sense of hysterical symptoms?
The History of Jean-Martin Charcot and the Salpêtrière
In neurology at the end of the nineteenth century, two of the diseases that most concerned neurologists were neurosyphilis and hysteria. Jean-Martin Charcot’s particular interest in hysteria developed when he took over the Delasiauve ward, where people with epilepsy and hysteria were admitted. Charcot regarded hysteria as a “neurosis with an organic basis,” yet these patients showed no visible lesions in the brain. Instead, he believed there was a “dynamic lesion” in the brain responsible for hysterical patients’ symptoms, such as hyperexcitability and sensory dysfunction, which led him to classify these patients as suffering from “grand hysterical attacks” (grandes crises d’hystérie) (Bogousslavsky et al., 2009).
Charcot’s research led him to think that trauma was an integral component of hysteria: trauma could trigger a hysterical response, and it could also take the form of a mental representation that persisted during a long latent phase in the patient. Freud and Breuer would later theorise, in another context, that children go through a “latency phase” marked by a regression in sexual development. Charcot’s ideas contributed to some of the earliest theoretical developments around hysteria.
It was in 1878 that Charcot began using hypnosis with his hysterical patients. Since he had hypothesised that hysteria and epilepsy were organic neuroses without visible brain lesions, he and his colleagues believed that a patient’s ability to be hypnotised was a clinical sign of hysteria. This is why Charcot and his peers repeatedly tried to prove this hypothesis during public demonstrations, especially at the Salpêtrière, where many medical professionals became convinced that susceptibility to hypnosis was synonymous with hysteria (Bogousslavsky et al., 2009).
Photography in France at the End of the Nineteenth Century
At the time, hypnosis was considered the bridge between normality and abnormality, and the people who crossed that bridge were patients diagnosed with hysteria. Authors writing about hypnosis believed and wanted to normalise hypnosis as a transition process between states that could be described and characterised by science. However, others, such as spiritualists, thought that hypnosis was a phenomenon belonging to domains that could not be explained “in materialist terms” (Roth, 1996).
Amid the controversies about what hypnosis is and what it does, both medical practitioners and spiritualists agreed on one thing: photography was the perfect tool for remembering the materialisation of spiritual or mental phenomena. Photography was prized because it was a technology capable of reproducing the real physical world perfectly. Photographers could not only depict ordinary aspects of everyday life but also seek out and capture anomalies and extremes, since photography and the camera were tools for investigating whether other realms and modes of existence were possible (Roth, 1996).
Charcot’s Photography
How did Charcot use photography in connection with hypnosis to better understand hysteria? In what way was combining these two popular practices revolutionary?
Charcot established himself as a renowned neurologist by investigating the causes and famous phases of hysteria and by using hypnosis at the Salpêtrière. Why did he choose to use photography to explore hypnosis in his hysterical patients?
The Images
Jean-Martin Charcot demonstrating hysteria in a hypnotised patient at the Salpêtrière
Etching by A. Lurat, 1888, after a painting by André Brouillet, 1887.
The Meaning of the Photographs
In this image, Jean-Martin Charcot is shown standing in the middle of a large room next to a woman, his left arm lightly supporting her back. Behind the woman, a man and two nurses appear concerned about her condition. Her head is thrown back, her arms are rigid behind her, and her spine is curved backwards, as if she had fallen asleep while standing in the middle of the room. Next to the two nurses, the foot of a hospital bed can be seen, as though it were ready for her to lie down again.
On the left-hand side of the image, a large group of older men in professional attire is visible, most of them seated in front of Charcot, with a row standing at the back. All eyes are fixed on Charcot and his patient; some attendees are even hastily taking notes on what Charcot is presenting. This photograph (or, strictly speaking, this image as reproduced) illustrates one of the three main functions of photography: its pedagogical function. It was taken during one of the famous Tuesday Lectures (Leçons du Mardi) at the Salpêtrière, where Charcot demonstrated his hypnotic techniques to an audience (Florsheim, 2016).
The value of the image rests almost entirely on Charcot, who is clearly the focal point. The image exposes the dynamics between Charcot as principal investigator, the patient, and his colleagues. Power is concentrated in Charcot’s hands: he is the one pushing the limits of knowledge about hysteria — everyone else in the room is secondary to him. Charcot was strongly influenced by the work of Charles Richet, especially his work on induced somnambulism, which Charcot operationalised by using hypnosis with his hysterical patients. Live demonstrations in front of the Salpêtrière school were appealing to his intellectual peers, since for them susceptibility to hypnosis was a sign of illness, in this case hysteria (Bogousslavsky, 2009).
In another pair of photographs, we see a patient caught between two phases of the hypnotic process: lethargy and catalepsy. In the left-hand image, a woman wearing what appears to be a nurse’s uniform is lying horizontally in mid-air. The photograph is framed to give the impression that she is levitating. In the background, there is a dark floral curtain and two wooden chairs. The patient rests her hands on her abdomen.
In the right-hand image, we see the same patient in a different phase. She is no longer suspended horizontally in the air; the bottom of her dress seems to touch the wooden floor, which probably means her feet are planted on the ground. Her hands now rest on her chest, close to her neck. Her body remains in an unnatural position, with her spine bent backwards at a right angle to her legs. Unlike in the left-hand photo, the patient’s eyes are closed. To induce catalepsy, one produces a sudden loud noise or strikes the patient with a blinding object, but the most notable feature of the cataleptic phase is the patient’s immobility (Dessoir, 1887). The lethargic phase is characterised by hyperexcitability of nerves and muscles (Dessoir, 1887).
The photographs only show the patient in profile, which creates a sense of anonymity because viewers cannot see her full face. Although Charcot likely wanted to focus on the patient’s bodily movements during a hypnotic phase, the images produce a different effect. Viewers do not perceive this woman as a human being undergoing treatment for an illness; rather, she appears as a bizarre, unnatural shape. With the help of a young physician, Paul Regnard, Charcot aimed to describe his patients during hypnotic phases not only to provide a visual representation of how each phase unfolds, but also as part of an attempt to divide hypnosis into distinct moments and categories (Florsheim, 2016).
Another pair of photographs documents the cataleptic phase of hypnosis. In the first photo, a woman in everyday dress, wearing a long buttoned gown, extends her right arm fully upward while her left arm crosses over her torso at a lower angle. Her palms seem stiff, while her fingers appear more relaxed. Her torso tilts slightly left, and her gaze is directed toward her left hand.
In the second photograph, another woman wearing a long fur-lined coat holds both arms raised, slightly bent at the elbows. Her hands look fragile as they hover near the top of her head. Her gaze is fixed on her left hand. Both images emphasise the strangeness and fixation on arm and hand positions. The woman on the left appears confused; the one on the right looks dazed.
Since catalepsy is defined by immobility, it makes sense that these women seem perplexed by their own bodies; they cannot move their arms and hands as they wish. These two photos are ambiguous: the women appear not to control their own movements, prompting the question: who or what is controlling them? Is it the severity of their hysterical symptoms, or the fact that Charcot instructed them to pose a certain way? In either case, power is taken away from these women, leaving room for interpretation by viewers. Charcot wanted to emphasise the importance of the first stages of hypnosis because this practice allowed him to translate his perception of hysteria into terms that others could see, at a time when “photography was perceived as an absolutely objective record of reality” (Florsheim, 2016). In this way, Charcot could “objectively” record the reality of hysteria and show how hypnotic procedures on patients “proved” the existence of the illness to others.
Another set of two photographs shows patients in the lethargic phase of hypnosis. In the left-hand image, a woman is seated while a nurse stands beside her. The patient’s hands are clasped together like crab claws. Her neck is thrown back, exposing her throat; the nurse supports the weight of her head. The patient’s eyes are closed. In the right-hand image, the nurse carries and lifts the patient in her arms. Her eyes are also closed, and her upper body is arched backwards. Both patients appear to have fainted, and the nurses are there to hoist their unconscious bodies.
The lethargic phase was described as a state of deep sleep in which the patient remains immobilised and rigid (Dessoir, 1887). The nature of these two photographs undermines the competence and agency of women, especially Charcot’s hysterical patients. The women are unconscious, which suggests that the burden of illness is too heavy for them. These images allow Charcot to exercise power over his patients, which he does through the practice of hypnosis. Charcot and his collaborators perceived something particular in hypnotism, compelling them to understand it more fully, not only clinically but also nosographically — something made possible by photographing the hypnotic phases (Dessoir, 1887).
Two additional photographs show two women lying on hospital beds. Both patients wear white hospital gowns. In the left-hand image, the woman’s body is lifted above the bed; the lower half of her body does not touch the sheets. Her knees are bent at a right angle and her forearms are placed behind her back to support the weight of her raised torso. Her face is not visible. In the right-hand image, another woman sleeps on a large pillow, her head turned to her right. Her arms lie straight at her sides, with both wrists bent so that her palms and fingers face down. These photographs depict patients in the midst of hysterical epilepsy. The bizarre positions of their bodies match Charcot’s understanding of hysteria.
Hysteria was considered an organic neurosis, notable precisely because hysterical patients had no physical brain lesions. Nonetheless, the body showed physical manifestations. Charcot chose these photographs to demonstrate how overwhelming hysteria’s effects could be on the body. The subjects are depicted as lifeless and disturbed, which not only helped Charcot obtain striking images to publish as medical photographs, but also allowed him to explore other methods of understanding hysteria — in this case, hypnosis. The strangeness of hysterical behaviour spurred Charcot and other physicians to investigate the causes of hysterical-epileptic attacks more deeply. Charcot believed that the ability to be hypnotised was a clinical sign of hysteria. This supposed proof allowed him to develop typologies of normality (absence of hysteria) and abnormality (presence of mental illness) (Florsheim, 2016).
Conclusion
Although hysteria is no longer recognised as a legitimate psychiatric diagnosis, Jean-Martin Charcot must be credited with the ingenuity of using photography to capture images of his hysterical patients: it was the first time that the nature of an illness could be translated from a health professional’s perspective to the broader public. Charcot carefully selected his patients’ poses and overall visual presentation in order to defend and normalise the use of hypnosis as a tool for understanding hysteria in the nineteenth century.
Translation – Comment la photographie a-t-elle impacté la dimension d’archive et pédagogique…
How Did Photography Shape the Archival and Pedagogical Dimensions of Charcot’s Studies on Hysteria at the Salpêtrière?
Adriana Gonzalez – March 21, 2023
Medical Photography
Medical photography was introduced in the nineteenth century, a few years after photography itself. Its main purpose was to use photographs as tools to assist patient care, education, and future research. The first uses of medical photography in the 1850s were by Hermann Wolff Berend and Hugh Welch Diamond, who took pictures of orthopaedic patients to track the progress of treatments. As a psychiatrist, Diamond began to photograph patients deemed insane.
In France, Charcot began photographing patients and showing the images to his students. He believed that photography was an objective method that could capture all the activities of patients at the Salpêtrière hospital. To record every movement, such as epileptic seizures, patients were photographed even in bed. Charcot captured many moments that allowed him to pursue his studies in greater depth — but at what cost?
Unfortunately, medical photography was not used objectively. Instead, it led to multiple false interpretations of patients, most often women. There was a clear lack of privacy, since the women’s faces can be seen in most of the photographs. These women, being in a psychiatric hospital, had no choice about whether they were photographed. Most of the images were published without patients’ consent. In addition to being women, many of them belonged to the lower classes, which further reduced their voice and power.
Hysteria at the Salpêtrière
Jean-Martin Charcot was a French neurologist whose research focused on the illness known as hysteria. This condition was considered a mental disorder that manifested through physical bodily reactions. More specifically, Charcot thought the disease was hereditary. Through his experience and his influence in neurology, Charcot had a major impact on the study of mental illnesses. Given the frequency of hysterical symptoms in nineteenth-century Europe, Charcot had many opportunities to study both patients and their illnesses.
One of the most important tools that contributed to his research was the use of photography. The images below show some of the women he photographed and studied at the Salpêtrière hospital in Paris.
Photography acted as a tool that validated Charcot’s thinking and his studies on hysteria. By capturing every movement of his patients at the Salpêtrière, he had plenty of material to present in his lectures. However, it is important to note that these photographs were staged. The desire for evidence to support Charcot’s ideas about hysteria led to many women being photographed in strange positions, wearing certain dresses and making specific facial expressions.
Why was this problematic? To satisfy Charcot’s needs, patients gave him exactly what he wanted, and he used this as proof that his studies on hysteria were accurate and correct. The women received special status among other patients in exchange for these hysterical performances. Yet they were threatened with losing that status if they did not pose for photographs during “hysterical” episodes. Looking at these photographs today, it is clear that they did not actually capture authentic behaviours or movements. Instead, they show a strategy Charcot devised to be recognised as one of the leading physicians of the nineteenth century.
One of Charcot’s most famous patients was Augustine. She became very well known, and many of her attacks are represented in the Iconographie photographique de la Salpêtrière. As a result, she was favoured by Charcot and received special attention. Augustine is the subject of some of the photographs presented below.
Muscular Hyperexcitability
Charcot, Jean-Martin. Iconographie photographique de la Salpêtrière (1877–1880)
This photograph shows a woman having a hysterical episode. Her entire body is covered except for her face and hands. She is lying across the edges of two chairs, her body arched upward. Her face cannot be seen by the viewer. The photograph demonstrates her “muscular hyperexcitability.”
Several features emphasise the patient’s condition:
Her body is in an abnormal position, with her head tilted upward in both plates. In Plate XIV, her body appears to be floating. The patient is supported by two chairs, but the dark tones of the image, especially the chairs, make her seem suspended in mid-air.
Her clothing completely covers her body. There is a very noticeable colour contrast between her white cap and long skirt and the rest of the photograph, which is mostly black. Her white skirt is the focal point, drawing the viewer’s attention to her unusual posture. In addition to these strong colour contrasts, her entire body is covered save for her face and hands. Her head is in the same position in both plates, turned upward with eyes seemingly closed. Her hand positions, however, change dramatically: in Plate XIV, her hands rest on her abdomen; in Plate XV, her hands grasp her neck. This change in position may suggest that she is experiencing an episode in Plate XV.
No other person is visible in the photo. In Plate XV, there are no chairs either. The woman seems to be standing, but her feet are not visible as they are in Plate XIV. The photographs look different to the viewer because Plate XIV is horizontal, whereas Plate XV is vertical. If the images were identical, there would be little or no difference in her posture.
Knowing that Augustine is the patient photographed in these specific plates, it is difficult for the viewer to determine how much of the photograph is real and how much is planned. Charcot’s credibility as a physician can be seriously questioned. Plate XIV, with its very unusual pose on the chairs, suggests that this is one of Charcot’s photographs that helped him demonstrate his theories, even if it seems staged. In a way, Augustine gave him exactly what he wanted.
Lethargy
Charcot, Jean-Martin. “Léthargie,” Iconographie photographique de la Salpêtrière (1880)
This photograph shows the contraction of a woman’s facial muscles. Here, the woman is in the lethargic phase, when the phenomenon of neuromuscular hyperexcitability is at its peak. The viewer can see a doctor’s hand applying an instrument to her face to trigger a muscular response. This causes the muscle to contract.
There are three different images of the same woman. In all three she is seated in the same position. This helps the viewer see changes in her posture and expression. All of her clothing is black, and no other colour appears in any of the three photographs.
Her eyes are closed, which suggests she is in the midst of an episode. Her head faces forward in the first photograph. It then begins to turn to the side in the second, and ends up completely turned in the third. Her facial expressions are interesting: Plate XI shows her smiling. Her body looks more relaxed than in the other two photos; she appears looser, with unclasped hands. There is almost no visible movement in this photo, and her hands are not as blurry as they are in Plates XXXIX and XXXVIII.
The doctor’s hand is visible, using an instrument to signal aspects of her face. However, the doctor never touches her directly. Why? Given the many misconceptions about women at the Salpêtrière, it is clear she is being used as a subject to be studied. The doctor’s hand always points toward a specific part of her face or neck. Even though other parts of her body, like her hands, also move, only her face is singled out. This is another example of how Charcot uses photography to highlight his studies and lend them credibility. He tells the viewer explicitly what to focus on — presumably because that is what helps prove his theories.
The woman is fully clothed, and only her face and hands are visible, as in the previous image. This helps the viewer concentrate on her facial expressions and hand movements. Looking across the three images, we see that she lets go in the final one: her face displays a smile and her hands are no longer joined.
Cerebral Atrophy: Partial Epilepsy
Regnard, Paul-Marie-Léon. “Atrophie cérébrale: épilepsie partielle hémiplégie gauche,” Iconographie photographique de la Salpêtrière (1878)
This photograph is a portrait of a woman seated facing the camera. Both hands rest on her knees, one clenched into a fist. She wears a white cap. Only her face and arms are visible; the rest of her body is covered.
This is the first image in which the woman’s eyes are open, looking directly ahead. Her face shows a frown, made very apparent by the wrinkles around her mouth.
As in the two previous images, she is seated, and her face and arms are the only parts of her body not covered by clothing. The focus on face and hands also appears in the earlier photos. Here, this framing can be read as a way of analysing women’s behaviour and its connection to their mental state. Both arms are clearly visible, but her left arm is in an unusual position. This draws attention to the effects of epilepsy; the left hand is turned inward. Seeing both arms allows the viewer to compare them and clearly notice the abnormal position of the left arm.
No doctor is present in this photograph. Given the drapery in the background, this image seems to have been taken in a studio rather than a hospital.
The dress she wears is dark and blends with the other elements of the image. However, the cap is white. Because of the lack of other light tones, it stands out immediately to the viewer and draws the eye to her face.
This photograph clearly illustrates the lack of privacy for women patients when they were photographed. Her facial expression shows discomfort and disapproval. Looking at her dress, the viewer might also interpret it as a sign of her lower social class. As a result, she has no authority to refuse being photographed.
Beginning of the Attack
Regnard, Paul-Marie-Léon. “Début de l’attaque (cri),” Iconographie photographique de la Salpêtrière (1878)
This image shows a side view of a woman lying on a bed, with her head resting on a pillow. Her arms appear extended along the sides of the bed, and her mouth is open. Her face is the only clearly visible part of her body. A belt is visible around her abdomen.
This is the first image we see of a woman lying on a hospital bed. The emotions it conveys are much stronger than in previous photos, because she appears to be in distress. We can infer this from her facial expression, particularly her open mouth. She seems to be lying flat. The image does not show her arms, which were visible in all the previous photographs. By not showing specific parts of her body such as her arms, the photographer limits what the viewer can interpret about her posture.
The photographer’s decision not to show her arms is significant. The arms are extended, but they look as if they are being pulled down or tied. Taken together — the hidden arms and her visible distress — this may be why she appears to be suffering.
The image seems to have been taken in a hospital. Even though the focus is on the woman and the background is empty, the pillow and bed match her hospital gown. It is striking, however, that no doctor appears in the frame.
One of the most interesting and important elements in the photograph is the belt around the woman’s abdomen. Its very dark colour contrasts with her light clothing and draws the viewer’s eye. It is possible that the belt delivers electrical shocks. Based on her unseen arms and obvious distress, it seems she is having a seizure.
This is another photograph of Augustine. Her facial expression is extremely exaggerated, with her mouth wide open. Knowing that she is the patient pictured, it is hard to determine whether this attack is real. It is telling that the image is centred on her. Was Charcot in the room, instructing her? The attack itself is difficult to validate because so little is visible to the viewer.
Charcot and the Salpêtrière Hospital
Brouillet, Pierre-André. “A Clinical Lesson with Doctor Charcot at the Salpêtrière” (1887)
This image shows Charcot teaching other doctors and scientists at the Salpêtrière. He uses one of his patients to demonstrate what hysteria “looks like.” All the doctors are men.
Unlike the previous images, which focus on a single individual, this one contains many people. The left side of the image is centred on the woman, who appears to be having an episode. She is accompanied by Charcot, two other women, and a man. The right side of the image is filled exclusively with men: doctors, scholars, and Charcot’s students.
Although the image is not in colour, the right side appears darker, causing the figures to blend into one another. This suggests that they have similar goals and that nothing really sets them apart individually. By contrast, the left side is lighter; in particular, the woman being studied seems to have a beam of light pointing toward her chest.
It is clear that Charcot intervened in his patients’ actual reactions and seizures. As viewers, it is very hard to know whether this is truly how a woman would respond. There are many men in this room. Given the power of men and of Charcot in particular, the patient must behave in a certain way. The real purpose of the scene is to uphold Charcot’s status, not to show an authentic reaction.
Conclusion
Each woman in the photographs above had her own personal story. However, because of Charcot’s choices about what to show the viewer and what to hide, it is clear that he was interested only in visible movements. The women’s feelings are far less legible. Even though it is impossible to deny the impact Charcot had on the study of mental illness and hysteria, his research was severely limited. By focusing on women in the Salpêtrière hospital, he could control his subjects, but by studying only women in a psychiatric hospital, he drastically reduced the possibility of comparative variables.
As we continue to study mental illness and the role of photography in capturing a moment, it is essential that research broaden its scope and include a wider range of subjects. Photography had a considerable impact on Charcot’s studies on hysteria. Specific moments and movements were captured, which helped spread the popularity of his work in Europe and around the world from the nineteenth century onward.
Although the photographs Charcot used as evidence for his studies on hysteria were very precise, it is impossible to determine whether they were authentic. Once we understand patient behaviour and the social implications of doing or not doing what he wanted to capture, it seems unlikely that these images show the women’s real behaviour. Today hysteria is perceived negatively. Given Charcot’s role in promoting his own research and reputation, this may be one reason why.
3. Comment la photographie a-t-elle contribué au développement de l’eugénisme ?
How Did Photography Contribute to the Development of Eugenics?
FREN 488 – Quetzal Baum – February 28, 2023
Eugenics is a term coined by Francis Galton in 1883. Eugenics is the study of how to organise reproduction and alter natural selection through selective breeding in order to “improve” the human race. It often involves managing the reproduction of a human population so as to promote certain hereditary characteristics deemed superior. Eugenics encourages people with supposedly desirable traits to reproduce and discourages or prevents procreation by those with traits considered undesirable.
Galton, Composite Portraits of Criminal Types, 1877
- At the top of the plate, a sentence states that these people have facial traits common to men convicted of crimes. Below this text, there are six portraits of six people. The first three portraits are taken from a slight angle; the three below show the men facing the camera head-on. Each man has his mouth closed, with a blank, serious expression, and each has very short hair. The images are labelled I, II, III, IV, V, and VI. The second half of the plate is labelled “combinations of portraits.” The caption beneath indicates that images of the same men have been combined here. Each combined image is labelled with the numbers of the component portraits.
- The statement suggests that men with these facial features will be more likely to commit crimes. The image and its text fabricate a correlation and assert a causal relationship between certain facial traits and a predisposition to criminality. This practice implies that one could predict who is most likely to commit a crime based solely on appearance. The lack of emotional expression on the men’s faces makes the photographs appear objective.
- Pseudoscience and Stereotypes
Galton’s composite portrait uses the technique of photographic superimposition, in which multiple exposures are made on the same photographic plate. The function of this method is to produce what are called “types.” Galton superimposed several exposures taken from glass negatives of individual portraits to create composite images made up of several superimposed faces. He began by collecting portraits and aligning the eyes of two images. He then stacked them and pinned them up, marking what he called “register marks.” He superimposed the portraits on a plate and took a new photograph of the stacked images, changing the order of the portraits for a total exposure of eighty seconds.
Galton, The Making of a Composite Portrait, 1878
- In the top half of the plate, there is a photographic plate under the camera at the far left. On the far right, we see photographs stacked on top of each other and pinned up; the image is taken from the side. The front portrait is visible and shows a man’s face, but his features are not shown in detail. The lower half of the plate is an enlarged version of this pinned portrait. A grid has been drawn over the man’s face, dividing it into four square sections.
- This image illustrates Galton’s process for creating composite portraits. He presents his process as a legitimate and objective tool. According to Galton, photography could be used to analyse human beings, who could then be classified based on their facial traits. The analysis of physical characteristics would be useful for predicting human behaviour.
- Categorisation and Typologisation
In 1883, Galton became known as the “father of eugenics.” These photographs would legitimise the aims of eugenics by indicating who should and should not have children. The technique of making composite portraits gave durable, tangible form to the mental impressions we form about groups of people — our “stereotypes.”
Galton, The Jewish Type, 1883
- The plate contains eight portraits labelled a, b, c, d, e, f, g, and h. Images a, b, and c show the subject turned to the right of the frame. In image d, the subject faces left. In e, f, g, and h the subject faces the camera. The plate is captioned “The Jewish Type.” The text on the left side labels images a, b, and c as “the profile portrait,” while the text on the right labels e, f, g, and h as “the full face.” Images a, b, and c are labelled as “5 components,” and image d is labelled as the co-composite of b and c. Similarly, images e, f, and g are labelled as 5 components, and image h as the co-composite of f and g. The portraits show white men with dark hair. The edges of their faces are blurred.
- The blurred contours indicate the practice of superimposing photographs. This technique was used to identify physical traits — especially facial features — shared among members of a given group and to define a recurring “physical type” associated with that group. The use of letters as labels objectifies and dehumanises the subjects.
- Antisemitism and Systematisation
Creating “types” through photography and superimposition led to categorising people and taking measures based on those categories. This was an international enterprise. For example, these ideas were institutionalised at the Second International Congress of Eugenics, held at the American Museum of Natural History in New York. The congress, originally planned for 1915 and postponed to 1921 because of the First World War, aimed to discuss eugenics in an atmosphere of international cooperation. The logo of the conference was a tree — a powerful, lasting symbol of the eugenics movement.
Logo of the Second International Congress of Eugenics, 1921
- In the centre of the image stands a tree, with a banner that reads “Eugenics” in large letters. On the left side of the trunk, there is text that reads “Eugenics is the self-direction” and continues on the right, “of human evolution.” Under the trunk, another text states: “Like a tree, eugenics draws its materials from many sources and organizes them into an harmonious entity.” The roots are labelled with words such as genetics, anthropology, and statistics; each root has branches leading to subfields. The branches of the tree have blossoms, and the trunk is drawn with detailed texture.
- Choosing an image of a tree as the symbol of the eugenics conference evokes notions of nature and implies that eugenics is something natural. The text stating that “eugenics draws from many sources” suggests that the practice is supported by abundant evidence from distinct fields. The roots feeding the same trunk labelled eugenics grow out of respected disciplines such as genetics, anthropology, and statistics.
- Visual Representation and Branding
Eugenic practices varied across countries. Despite differences in doctrine, there were recurring themes focused on the idea that “good” people should reproduce and “bad” people should not. Eugenic thinking presented itself as a scientific way of addressing social problems. The eugenics movement continued to grow and notably provided the basis for Nazi racial policy and the Holocaust. The Nazis justified genocide and promoted the reproduction of certain groups by defining “superior” and “inferior” traits. The goal was to create a “superior” human race made up of people who possessed traits identified as superior.
The Nazis established birth houses called Lebensborn in Germany. These maternity homes were used to increase the birth rate of “Aryan” children born out of wedlock to “racially pure and healthy” parents.
A Lebensborn Birth House, 1943
- The left half of the frame shows a building with windows. At the top, a dark flag flies bearing two white symbols resembling lightning bolts. A second flag with a partially visible Nazi emblem can be seen. Trees fill the background. At the lower left, a nurse in uniform stands beside a pram. Another pram is visible in the foreground, at the centre. The nurse’s uniform, the prams, and the building are all white. The prams are made of light material with lace. The dark flags contrast sharply with the white fabric.
- The trees create a natural setting. The building’s windows make it appear open and inviting. The white, frilly fabric of the prams evokes images of purity and the joy of newborn babies. The nurse attending one of the prams signals care, recalling maternal affection.
- Systematic Increase of the “Aryan” Population
Photography contributed to the development of eugenics by reducing people to their physical traits. These traits were sorted and judged in order to decide who should continue the human race and who should be eliminated.