ITALIAN WARRIORS IN PLATA

Portrait of Garibaldians. Buenos Aires. Circa 1880 - 1885.

Vintage albumen in Portrait Cabinet format. Measures. Photograph: 13.2 x 9.6 cm / 5.2 x 3.77 in. Secondary support: 16.4 x 10.9 cm / 6.45 x 4.3 in. The shot was made in the spacious atelier and laboratory of "Bizioli Hermanos", at that time located in the "highlands" of Calle Cuyo -now Sarmiento- No. 401 in Buenos Aires.

Military photographic iconography begins with us as early as the 1850s, precisely with the first posed studio portraits during the brief stage of the daguerreotype. Since then, the men-at-arms used to come with their best gala uniforms and well-deserved decorations, sometimes in dramatic situations, such as during the bloody Paraguayan War (1865-1870).

The work that occupies us is of manifest importance; we appreciate three Italian warriors acting in countless European and River Plate struggles. The veterans pose in a relaxed way in front of the special camera of the Photographic Studio of their countrymen, the Bizioli Brothers -directed by the artists Cesare (1847-1914) and Isaaco, originally from Bergamo- and the scene says it all; They wear the red and loose Garibaldine blouses, kepis, handkerchiefs tied around the neck, cords and the recognition of courage in medals pinned to the chest. They are three survivors and they know it very well; many of their comrades have fallen on the battlefields and they celebrate life, friendship and "lontano" memories in front of the immortal chamber.

In our work entitled "Italian Pioneers in Argentine Photography" we affirm that the Bizioli brothers were the most prolific portraitists of Buenos Aires of their time and with a production that far exceeds that of all their colleagues, the Cabinet format being preferred by these artists of the camera and the brush. We thank Dr. Miguel de Marco, Sergio Toyos and Alberto Alfaro for the information provided.

By Abel Alexander

President of the Ibero-American Society for the History of Photography

S.O. XVI-OOL