A photographer captures a poor black boy and white girl playing in the heights of Rio de Janeiro in the early 20th century.
- Panoramic photograph in two parts of Rio de Janeiro, with two children in the lower right corner.
- Glued on a card, front and back.
- +/- 22 cm x 20 cm.
- Rio de Janeiro, 1900-1910.
- Perfect condition.
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Unique piece.
These two images are historical black and white photographs of Rio de Janeiro, as indicated by the captions at the bottom of the photos: “Part of Rio de Janeiro”. The photos were taken from a high vantage point, possibly a hill, at a rather unusual angle. They show a panoramic view of the city, with Guanabara Bay and the mountains in the background, as well as baroque churches and typical colonial houses of the era. No cable car is visible in the photo, which indicates that the photograph was taken before 1912. My estimate is that it was taken between 1900 and 1910.
In the second image, in the lower right corner, did you notice the two children? A black boy and a white girl, approximately the same age. They are standing in an open space, surrounded by vegetation. The girl places her hand above her face to shield herself from the sun, which demonstrates a certain spontaneity in capturing this scene. These children wear simple and functional clothes: the boy wears wide trousers with suspenders, and the girl, a white dress. The clothes are a little worn and dirty.
The children belong to a modest social class, living in a context of simple life close to nature, at a time when Rio de Janeiro already presented great social disparities. They are part of a community of workers, possibly involved in manual or agricultural work, living in modest conditions, outside the prosperous city center, in a more humble and peripheral neighborhood.
These vibrant images, unusual for the location where they were taken and for the spontaneous moments captured of the children, offer a valuable perspective on the historical development of Rio de Janeiro, at a time when the city was at a crossroads between its colonial roots and its growth as a modern metropolis. I was particularly touched by the presence of the two children, a black boy and a white girl, who seem to like each other, play together, and, for a few hours, escape poverty and racism in the most beautiful city in the world.
