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Giuseppe Bruno was born in Capizzi on Sicily (1836). Photograohy was invented 3 years later in France (1839). Many Italians took up photography before Bruno, but they mostly did so as an vocation, opening commercial studios to take portraits. There are relatively few Italians, like Carlo Naya in Venice that pursued photography as a passion. We have found many Bruno images on the internet, but have found very limited information about him. Bruno means brown and in Italy as in England and Ameruca is a very common name, an interesting phenomenon. He studied to be an engineer, but had the good fortune to marry a wealthy woman. This gave him the opportunity to pursue the passion the acquired at a young age--the new medium of photography. Photography was just beginning to be seen as an art form. He experimented with a range of techniques of printing of images. As a result, he began calling himself a 'chemist-photographer', although it is his subject matter for which he is best known today. He was insrumental in the career of German photographer Wilhelm von Gloeden who also took photographs on Sicily. Some of which are similar to Bruno's work. And as Von Gloeden commonly publisdhed the wirk of others as his own the attribution can be tricky. Bruno worked almost exclusively in Sicily, especially Taormina and Capizzi on the east coast of the island close to where he was born. He began photographing landcapes and monuments and than began weaving people into his landscaopes, especially working peoole. In his more importnt works, the hard working people of Sicily are his focus. This makes his work of spdecial interest to Anericns as Italians were one of the most imprtant immigrant groups and mqny cnme from Bruno's Sicily. American history text books make a major point of the difficult conditions for immigrants in the late-19th and early 20th century. Never do they address the obvious question, if life was so diffucult in America, why did they come? A primary reason of course, is that life was so much more difficult for working-class Europans. Bruno created images that should also be in the text books. Many early images of the Italian working class exist today because Bruno captured them. The images reveal the grinding poverty on Sicily, but depict the people with great dignity. His images included families and working class children many of whom were working at a very early age. The Italian peasant girl on the previous page is a fine example. Bruno died in Taormina (1904).
Giuseppe Bruno was born in Capizzi on Sicily (1836). Photograohy was invented 3 years later in France (1839). We have found many Bruno images on the internet, but have found very limited information about him. Bruno means brown and in Italy as in England and Ameruca is a very common name, an interesting phenomenon. He studied to be an engineer, but had the good fortune to marry a wealthy woman. This gave him the opportunity to pursue the passion the acquired at a young age--the new medium of photography. Bruno died in Taormina (1904).
Many Italians took up photography before Bruno, but they mostly did so as an vocation, opening commercial studios to take portraits. There are relatively few Italians, like Carlo Naya in Venice that pursued photography as a passion.
Photography was just beginning to be seen as an art form.
Bruno was instrumental in the career of the younger German photographer Wilhelm von Gloeden who also took photographs on Sicily. Some of his work is similar to that of Bruno. And as Von Gloeden commonly publisded the work of others as his own, the attribution can be tricky. Von Gloeden himself wrote that Bruno was his photography master. When Bruno died, some photographic plates remained with Gloeden. Later Von Gloeden took several Sicilian landscapes photos. Von Gloeden who was oenly gay, however, primarily took his photography in another direction, the young male nude. He aklso dies in Taormina.
Bruno experimented with a range of techniques of printing of images. As a result, he began calling himself a 'chemist-photographer', although it is his subject matter for which he is best known today. Bruno worked almost exclusively in Sicily, especially Taormina and Capizzi on the east coast of the island close to where he was born. He began photographing landscapes and monuments and than began weaving people into his landscaopes, especially working peoole. In his more importnt works, the hard working people of Sicily are his focus. Many early images of the Italian working class exist today because Bruno captured them. The images reveal the grinding poverty on Sicily, but depict the people with great dignity. His images included families and working class children many of whom were working at a very early age. The Italian peasant girl on the previous page is a fine example.
Bruno had the luxury of a wife who could finance his photographic endevorss. We do not know to what extent he was able to sell or market his images. Or for that matter had any inclination to do so. Ethnographic imagery began with art. Ethnographioc photography became important in the late-19th century. We do see some images being sold in Germany, but that may be Von Gloeden's work. We believe these images were sold for scrapbooking collections or to be included in CDV or cabunet card albums. Interestinly, the CDV seems to have taken off because of an interest in Napoleon III. Just in which countries these images were sold we are not sure. We think that countries at the time had the greatest interest in their colonies. We are not sure about interest in other European countries or America. This is somewhat related to the interest in stereo view cards which were small twin photographs. The movies or magazines with photographs did not yet exist. Yet there was a great interest in images of the wider world. Illustrated magazines had engraved images, but not photographs. (Photo-lithography did not become a reality until the turn-of-the 20th century.) Yet there was great interest in images of important people, colonies and colonial people, wildlife, monuments and other matters of interest.
Bruno obviouly posed his photographs. This is, however, as artificial as it may seem. Remember give the technology of the time, snapsshots were not possible. Cameras were bulky and emulsions were slow. It is why so much of Matthew Brady's Civil War photography is dead bodies. The photographic technology of the day could not deal with any movement. So Bruno had to set up a portrait even if he did not pose the subjects. The snapshot would not be possible until the turn-of-the 20th century. The backgrounds and the clothes that the people in his imaades are wearing are all real and not something he played with or provided. So that you see is very real, even is the arangement of the people is artistically set up.
What we now call folk costumes developed out of the fashions of the common people of Europe in the 18th century. Athe time the airistocracy of Europe dressed similarly, fashijs based largely on French styles. It was the common people that dressed in destinctive styles., In the 19th century, the growing middle class and urban population began dressing in similar pan-European styles which is what Ameerica also adopted. Folk styles persisted, especially in rural areas. So we still see some of these garmebnts in 19th and even early-20th century. This was most common in rural and periferal areas of Europe. One of those areas was Sicily. And we see some of this in Bruno's photography. We see a mix ofv modern and Folk styles. The folk styles were mostly worn byadults nad not children.. There was an exceotiin to this was festivals and other special occassions when people might dress up in folk outfits. We see that even today. One of the most ionic folk garments in Sicily was a kind of elongated stocking cap. We at first thought this was a French revolutionary/voyageur cap, but it seems to have been much mre wuidely worn such as in Sicily and other areas of Italy. It also seems to have been worn by sailors before uniforms became common for ordinary seamen begore uniforms became common. We see British boys wearing these caps in costumed portraits with nautical props.
Bruno's focus on the common working people makes his work of special interest to Americans as Italians were one of the most imprtant immigrant groups. And many came from Bruno's Sicily. Euopeans flooded into America after the Civil War (1861-65). American history text books address this important part of American history. The text books make a major point of the difficult conditions immigrants faced in the late-19th and early-20th century. Never do they address the obvious question, if life was so difficult in America, why did they come? A primary reason of course, is that life was so much more difficult for working-class Europans, especially Italiasns. Southerrn Italy including Sicily was almost feudal. Bruno created images that should also be in the text books. They show whast life was like in the communities that the immigrants were coming from. This provides badly needed insights that American history textbooks fail to provide. The immigrant plight may seem difficult compared to 21st century standadrds, but the appropriate assessment is comparing life in America to that where they came from at the time. How compeent historians preparing these text books could make such obviously flawed assessments is difficult to understabnd. The immigrants of course themselves not only came to Ametica, but most chose to stay and make their new life as Americans.
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