As a prologue
The recent discipline on the History of Argentine photography, systematically initiated in the 1980s thanks to pioneering researchers such as Miguel Ángel Cuarterolo, Vicente Gesualdo, Sameer Makarius, Juan Gómez, Luis Priamo and among whom I include myself, is In a first stage, it addressed its evolution at the national level and throughout its first century or century and a half of existence.
In its beginnings there was no opportunity to undertake the necessary in-depth biographies of hundreds and even thousands of precursors of the camera. However, the prestigious book collection of the Antorchas Foundation came to remedy this shortcoming thanks to the efforts of the renowned historian Luis Priamo; Detailed biographies have been continuously published on founding figures such as Fernando Paillet, Juan Pi, Esteban Gonnet, Benito Panunzi, Christiano Junior, Samuel and Arturo Boote, Samuel Rimathe, Harry Grant Olds and others.
Added to this line of research and publication are the successful Congresses on the History of Photography that, starting in 1992 and through their Memoirs, have highlighted complete biographies with the contribution of authors such as Juan Gómez with his work on the Frenchman Bartolomé Loudet, or the marriage of Haydee Epifanio and Eduardo Marcet, dedicated to rescuing Anglo-Saxon photographers active in our country, to give just a couple of examples. I now add this new work, like the recent one focused on Lázaro Sudak, about the talented German artist Jorge Sulzmann, of whom there were only a few isolated references through various authors.
A biographical challenge called Sulzmann
The recent discovery of a couple of photographic portraits, as has happened on other occasions, led me to return to distant investigations, dormant for years in my archive. After the communication from the Hilario Gallery, I found myself in front of two portraits of a lady and a gentleman, vintage works copied on salted photographic paper; both drawn and illuminated in watercolor. And the most surprising thing, one of them with the signature of the German painter George Sulzmann, who had followed in his footsteps a long time ago.
The study of these seated portraits offered in the last auction was the inspiration for this research article and Sulzmann, a forgotten protagonist of distant searches, jumped into the present with all the magic of him. The thing is that you rarely have the opportunity to evaluate works as special as these two pioneering images linked to the founding stage of Argentine photography.
In reality, we are dealing with two authors; Although only one of them is signed by the painter, we attribute the rest to him with full arguments. It was Jorge Sulzman who drew them, inventing scenarios, and also painted them (illuminated, we would say technically), but we attribute the shots and their photographic copies to the Italian Luigi Bartoli (1821-1886).
The possibility of delving into the life of Sulzmann, an artist of whom only partial approaches are known, using our old research, allowed us to reveal this small mystery. The recorded primary sources shed the necessary light; We are referring to population censuses, records in trade guides and yearbooks, as well as advertisements in newspapers and magazines of the time. And, in addition, some surviving works in public and private collections.
The investigation began in the First Census of the Argentine Republic carried out in September 1869 under the presidency of Domingo F. Sarmiento. In his home on Tucumán Street in the city of Buenos Aires, the census taker interviewed Jorge Sullzmann (sic), German, born in 1828, married and by trade an oil painter. To his wife Emilia G. de Sulzmann, Argentine, born in 1840 and to the four Argentine daughters of the marriage: Elena (1857); Julia (1859); Virginia (1861) and Emilia (1864). And in that line of search we also located him in the "National Almanac and Guide of Commerce for 1870" with a workshop on Tucumán Street No. 83 and advertised under the heading of "Portrait Artist." In turn, the "Great Almanac of La Nación" for 1871 indicates that Sulzmann still worked and evidently lived on that property on Tucumán Street with his large family.
Returning to the census, we will say that two errors were made that day; The first was to establish the incorrect surname "Sullzmann" - with a double L - and, the second, to point out that his wife and all of his daughters were also oil painters. The revealing data on the form indicate that that German immigrant had contracted a relationship with the young Argentine Emilia G. - only 16 or 17 years old - with whom he formed his large family. That first national census documented the city of Buenos Aires with 187,346 inhabitants - 1,737,080 were registered in the country - and the Buenos Aires residents were served by a total of 133 camera professionals.
The art historian Vicente Gesualdo (1922 - Buenos Aires - 1999) points out in his interesting book "History of Photography in America - From Alaska to Tierra del Fuego in the 19th century": "The German Sulzmann who was a partner - of Luigi Bartoli - in 1856, he had arrived the previous year in Buenos Aires; he had been a painter and photographer for the Chamber of Queen Isabel II: and he was brought to Buenos Aires in 1855 by the Genoese Bartolomé Bossi (1817-1890), who was the captain of the steamship "America" when it caught fire on Christmas in 1871."
If so, we assume that Sulzmann's performance in cosmopolitan Madrid and, no less than close to the court of Queen Isabel II (1830-1904), must have polished his practice on the Spanish language enough to seriously plan his settlement in distant Argentina. In this sense we have one of the first documents about his actions in Buenos Aires; Indeed, in the newspaper "Los Debates" of September 20, 1855, the outstanding commercial notice that we transcribed in full was published:
"Portraits - In photography and Electrotype. Establishment of L. Bartoli and Ca. Plaza de la Victoria. Recova Nueva N° 56 - This gallery will be open every day, from 8 in the morning until four in the afternoon. Mr. Bartoli invites the public to visit his gallery and specifically examine the portraits in photography, which with great effort and care he has managed to put them on a par with those made in Europe. The portraits in photography are painted by Mr. Sulzmann, artist of high reputation well known in this Capital, as without comparison in his delicate brush. In the same house there is a luxurious assortment of box frames, medallions and gold pins. Two complete machines for photography and electrotype are also sold."
These period testimonies and where Sulzmann intervenes as a painter on Bartoli's portraits, force us to stop at a short, but very interesting chapter of our photography. The French invention of the daguerreotype (1839) finally landed in Buenos Aires almost four years later, when the people of Buenos Aires had access to those first images that, at that time, were mostly small, almost miniatures. But that first step quickly led to photography through the negative-positive process in copies on paper originating in Talbot, a novelty that led to their coexistence with daguerreotypes, electrotypes, ambrotypes and even tintypes. We clearly see this competition thanks to Bartoli's advertisement from 1855, who offered his clients portraits in photography and electrotype; a technical improvement of the old daguerreotype.
The art historian Vicente Gesualdo (1922 - Buenos Aires - 1999) points out in his interesting book "History of Photography in America - From Alaska to Tierra del Fuego in the 19th century": "The German Sulzmann who was a partner - of Luigi Bartoli - in 1856, he had arrived the previous year in Buenos Aires; he had been a painter and photographer for the Chamber of Queen Isabel II: and he was brought to Buenos Aires in 1855 by the Genoese Bartolomé Bossi (1817-1890), who was the captain of the steamship "America" when it caught fire on Christmas in 1871."
If so, we assume that Sulzmann's performance in cosmopolitan Madrid and, no less than close to the court of Queen Isabel II (1830-1904), must have polished his practice on the Spanish language enough to seriously plan his settlement in distant Argentina. In this sense we have one of the first documents about his actions in Buenos Aires; Indeed, in the newspaper "Los Debates" of September 20, 1855, the outstanding commercial notice that we transcribed in full was published:
"Portraits - In photography and Electrotype. Establishment of L. Bartoli and Ca. Plaza de la Victoria. Recova Nueva N° 56 - This gallery will be open every day, from 8 in the morning until four in the afternoon. Mr. Bartoli invites the public to visit his gallery and specifically examine the portraits in photography, which with great effort and care he has managed to put them on a par with those made in Europe. The portraits in photography are painted by Mr. Sulzmann, artist of high reputation well known in this Capital, as without comparison in his delicate brush. In the same house there is a luxurious assortment of box frames, medallions and gold pins. Two complete machines for photography and electrotype are also sold."
These period testimonies and where Sulzmann intervenes as a painter on Bartoli's portraits, force us to stop at a short, but very interesting chapter of our photography. The French invention of the daguerreotype (1839) finally landed in Buenos Aires almost four years later, when the people of Buenos Aires had access to those first images that, at that time, were mostly small, almost miniatures. But that first step quickly led to photography through the negative-positive process in copies on paper originating in Talbot, a novelty that led to their coexistence with daguerreotypes, electrotypes, ambrotypes and even tintypes. We clearly see this competition thanks to Bartoli's advertisement from 1855, who offered his clients portraits in photography and electrotype; a technical improvement of the old daguerreotype.
In that interregnum of a few years, some photographers offered the novelty of larger-sized portraits - for example, in the standard full-plate size of 16.5 x 21.5 cm - but in large color and copied on salted paper - "salt print." " - and whose surface was ideal for drawing and of course illuminating (coloring). It was the great opportunity for easel portrait painters and even for skilled miniaturists, whose craft was greatly threatened by the new mechanical images. And the public nostalgic for the color of large oil portraits accompanied this period, which ended abruptly when around 1860 the sudden French fashion for small business cards or "carte-de-visite" took hold and color completely disappeared. in them. As an exception we mention the business cards colored by the San Juan painter and photographer Desiderio Aguiar, especially his iconography about the soldiers who marched to the Paraguayan War (1865-1870).
Regarding the artistic training of Jorge Sulzmann, we see that it happened in Europe, since, when he landed in Buenos Aires at only 27 years old, he already had the talent and the necessary experience in various disciplines such as drawing, painting, lithography. , miniature and photography. Skills that he immediately put to use - through commercial agreements - with renowned lithographic and photographic workshops in Buenos Aires and Montevideo. Married around 1857 and with four small daughters, the pecuniary aspect of his multiple occupations was vital to the maintenance of his large family.
Recently installed at the beginning of 1855, our artist and with great success worked on the great political figures of the moment, in this sense his portrait of Bartolomé Miter deserved praise from the newspaper La Tribuna of Buenos Aires: «Before seeing the portrait of Colonel Miter we had had reason to properly appreciate the talent of young Schulztmann (sic); "But this new work has shown us that he is not only strong in miniature, but also in drawing on stone." And the same thing happened in the pages of the newspaper El Nacional (August 7, 1855): «Mr. Zulzmann's (sic) lithograph has reproduced, with happy success, an electrotype portrait of our distinguished Minister of War, rivaling the naturalness and similarity of the physiognomy with the ease of the line. We believe that this lithograph is one of the first that successfully attempts to remove this art from the inferiority in which it was found in relation to the culture of the country, and to the progress and acquisitions that others have made [...]» The newspapers of the period they also deal with two other lithographs by Sulzmann -February 1856-, two portraits that correspond to the artist Matilde Duclós characterized in her role as Juana I of Castile in a full-length figure and that of Carlos Mayer that was printed in Montevideo. From the presses of the prestigious French lithographer Julio Pelvilain also came his work on the famous actor Germán Mac Kay.
In the Buenos Aires newspaper La Tribuna of June 12, 1857, on page 3, column 4, we find this advertisement: «Miniature portraits and gouache by Sulzmann. Mr. Sulzmann has the honor of offering to the enlightened public of Buenos Aires his services in the field of miniature portraits, on ivory, from the largest to the smallest, guaranteeing resemblance. He makes portraits in gouache, which are painted on Bristol board, similar to miniatures and highly recommended for their fine and vigorous colors. He also makes portraits without colors, in Paris pencil, on Bristol board very similar to English engraving, which are notable for their elegance and simplicity. He also takes charge of making new portraits, keeping in view any old or damaged portraits. Come to the heights of La Merced, number. 54». We must point out that only months later - November - he moved his workshop to Calle del Perú No. 35 where he continues to offer all types of portraits, especially jewelry miniatures.
From his alliances with other portrait professionals, we reproduce the following full-page advertisement published in "El Avisador" - General Trade Guide edited by Wenceslao R. Solveyra for the year 1862:
«Aldanondo and Sulzmann - Portrait painters. Recoba Nueva, number 78. - (Engraving of a photographer with his studio camera photographing a client). This establishment, the oldest and only one of its kind, is so generously known for its beautiful pastel portraits, in the modern style of Europe, unrivaled in the Silver Republics, as proven by the works that the public knows. This establishment being the first to introduce machines and apparatus for all kinds of portraits, it has also been the first and to this day is the only one that makes "human-type" portraits, that is, those famous, perfect and finished paintings. of the Sevres porcelains. Not only does this great establishment deal with high-priced works, as is generally the case in this type of artistic work, but, having received the most advantageously known machines for portraits-cardas (sic) and other types of apparatus, they They allow you to take portraits at the lowest prices, guaranteeing accuracy. So that no charlatan can give himself importance by appropriating our system and perfection in portraits, every work that leaves this house will bear the seal in blue ink, Aldanondo and Sulzmann.
In this same Guide "El Avisador" but, in its third edition for the years 1866 and 1867, and under the heading "Oil Portraitists" (page 332), we verify that Jorge Sulzmann operated as the sole owner and with premises open to the public in the Florida Street No. 141; According to this publication, at that time Buenos Aires had 6 other firms dedicated to delicate pictorial portraits.
We should point out that four works by Sulzmann are preserved in the National Historical Museum of Buenos Aires. Under number 9653, a portrait of Captain Carlos Mayer, drawing by Sulzmann and lithography by Megé and Willens (Montevideo); 5522 portrait of the great dramatic actor Germán Mac Kay drawing by Sulzmann and lithograph by Jules Pelvilain. 5524 Portrait of General Bartolomé Miter 3/4 length, lithograph by Sulzmann and, finally, number 5531 half-length portrait of Miter and lithograph by Sulzmann. In turn, the National Historical Museum of Montevideo preserves the portrait of Heraclito José Fajardo according to a drawing by Jorge Sulzmann made in Buenos Aires in 1862.
The discovery, its relevance
The pair of vintage photographs drawn and illuminated in watercolor - on salted paper copies, photographic "salt print" - are preserved in excellent condition; Both measure around 23 x 17 cm, a respectable size for the time.
In the first we see that our portraitist drew a new and imaginary scenery for the best display of Mrs. de Medina, who poses seated in a luxurious dress with a wide crinoline. The chain and other jewelry stand out thanks to the delicate gold painting. On the right you can see some "invented" furniture such as the home, paintings and frames that dress the scene. Also the outstanding diamond-shaped carpet, the red tablecloth and even the vase emerge from the artist's imagination.
Detail of Sulzmann / painter's signature. It can be seen in the portrait of the gentleman, probably surnamed Medina.
The figure of the knight appears more austere, on this occasion Jorge Sulzmann uses a smooth, clear and neutral background that highlights the manly figure; The carpet is almost invisible and the books on the small table give it an intellectual air that is reinforced by the thin cane. The large gold pocket watch chain. The dark suit with a double-breasted vest, along with the white shirt and the black bow tie, represent the best attire of his time. On the lower right edge of the work is his holographic author's signature: "Sulzmann" and below the clarification of: "Painter".
We are faced with an exceptional pair of portraits of a nineteenth-century marriage; They are very early original photographic copies by the negative-positive process, where the rarely used salted paper, known as "salt print", was used as the primary support, the result of the inventiveness of the Englishman William Henry Fox Talbot (1800-1877). The striking application of color was executed with a brush and using the watercolor technique. The studio posing session was held in Buenos Aires - a city where the German Sulzmann worked in the artistic field for more than three decades - and the request of the clients requesting two individual works instead of one, indicates the high economic level of the couple in question.
Bibliography:
° Abel Alexander, Daguerrotipistas y Ambrotipistas Alemanes en la Argentina, en Revista "Todo es Historia", Buenos Aires, Diciembre de 2001, N° 431, 2001.
° "Almanaque Nacional y Guía del Comercio para 1870", Buenos Aires, Año 3, Imprenta del Siglo, 1870.
° Amado Becquer Casaballe - Miguel Ángel Cuarterolo, Imágenes del Río de la Plata - Crónica de la fotografía rioplatense 1840-1940, Segunda Edición, Buenos Aires, Editorial del Fotógrafo, 1985.
° Primer Censo de la República Argentina, Verificado en 1869 [...] bajo la dirección de Diego G. de la Fuente. Buenos Aires, Imprenta del Porvenir, 1872.
° Vicente Gesualdo, Historia de la Fotografía en América - Desde Alaska hasta Tierra del Fuego en el siglo XIX, Buenos Aires, Editorial Sui Generis, 1990.
° Juan Gómez, La Fotografía en la Argentina - Su Historia y Evolución en el Siglo XIX 1840-1899, Temperley (Buenos Aires), Abadía Editora, 1986.
° Hilario. Artes, Letras & Oficios, Fotografías de América Antiguas y Modernas, Buenos Aires, Catálogo Fotográfico N° 3, 2015.
° "La Nación - Gran Almanaque-Guía de La Nación, Buenos Aires, Imprenta La Nación, 1871.
° Museo Histórico Nacional, Buenos Aires, Catálogo, 1951
° Antonio Pillado, Diccionario de Buenos Aires o sea Guía de Forasteros, Buenos Aires, Imprenta del Porvenir, 1864.
My gratitude to all those who allowed me to advance in this search, to those who can read this essay today, and to those who will do so from another celestial dimension:
Angelica Alexander; Miguel Ángel Cuarterolo; Haydee Epifanio; Rosario García de Ferraggi; Vicente Gesualdo; Juan Gomez; Oscar Levin; Eduardo Marcet; Luis Priamo; Adolfo Luis Ribera; Fernando San Martín; Clara Tomasini and Guillermo Vega Fischer.
* Special for Hilario. Arts Letters Trades