Os indígenas e a fotografia no Brasil: dos gabinetes científicos aos cartões-postais (1844-1916)

Abstract

This dissertation investigates the social circuits of photographs of Indigenous people from Brazil produced in the second half of the 19th century, with the aim of identifying the subjects involved in the production, agency, consumption, and archiving of these images. First, it examines some of the producers of this type of image and the uses given to the photographs, identifying how the photographic image of indigenous people was mobilized by scientists, commercial photographers, publishers and consumers of postcards. It then explores an exceptional case of interethnic adoption involving a Bororo child and an elite family from the 19th century, in which the production of photographic portraits of the adopted boy (named Guido) was used as a strategy for preserving his memory by his adoptive mother. Treated as a legitimate son, Guido was photographed in a studio in the last decade of the 19th century, and the family also facilitated the production of portraits of two other indigenous children, one of whom was named Salvador. By investigating the social circuits of these photographs, this research seeks to understand how each child's social status influenced the ways in which their images were used, circulated, and preserved. Finally, the dissertation examines postcards produced with portraits of Salvador and the anonymous child, circulated between 1898 and 1908. In addition to aspects related to the production of these postcards, the research also addresses issues related to their circulation. Thus, the messages written on the postcards allow an analysis of how the senders, with the aid of photography, constructed their ideas and representations of the Brazilian indigenous population.