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The Two Ways of Life

Photograph
1857 (photographed)
Artist/Maker
Oscar Gustav Rejlander (photographer)

Oscar Gustav Rejlander (1813-75) 'The Two Ways of Life' 1857; 1872 copy print by Robert Crawshay (1817-79). Albumen print.

Object details

Category
Photographs
Object type
Photograph
TitleThe Two Ways of Life (assigned by artist)
Materials and techniques
Albumen Process
Photography
Brief description
Oscar Gustav Rejlander (1813-75) 'The Two Ways of Life' 1857; 1872 copy print by Robert Crawshay (1817-79). Albumen print.
Dimensions
  • Image area height: 138mm
  • Image area width: 261mm
Gallery label
(03/05/2013-16/03/2014)
Oscar Gustaf Rejlander (1813–75)
Two Ways of Life
1857; 1872 copy print by Robert Crawshay (1817–79)

This is a small-scale copy of an astonishing feat of ‘combination printing’. The original was constructed from over 30 separate negatives, each exposed independently but printed to form a unified picture so large it required two sheets of paper joined together. It showed that a photograph could be composed in the manner of painting. The moralistic subject of two brothers choosing between vice and virtue also indicates the work’s high art aspirations.
An original photograph by Robert Crawshay is also on display in this gallery.

Albumen print
Mitchell Loan
Credit line
Purchase funded by the Cecil Beaton Fund
Object history
This photograph was collected by 19th century photographer, William England, and by descent to Mark Mitchell. It was on long loan to the V&A from 1982 to 2013.
Production
This is an 1872 copy print by Robert Crawshay (1817-79)
Association
William England
Collection
Prints, Drawings & Paintings Collection
Accession number
E.25-2014

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Record createdDecember 2, 2013
Record URL
https://collections.vam.ac.uk/item/O1276365/the-two-ways-of-life-photograph-oscar-gustav-rejlander/
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