Two Ways of Life (Hope in Repentance), by Oscar Gustaf Rejlander. 1857. Albumen silver print. 31 in. × 16 in. Image source: Wikiart, where it is described as being in the public domain. Size: details taken from Hacking. Image download, text and formatting by Jacqueline Banerjee. [Click on the image to enlarge it].
This is Rejlander's best-known work; at the time, it was also his most controversial one. An allegorical study of the two paths open to young men on the verge of adult life, it shows a sage (a typical Victorian figure) pointing out the alternative possibilities to the men. Against a background of men engaged in various kinds of work, they confront two set-pieces like the tableaux vivant which the Victorians loved to stage at their parties. These deal with the personal side of life. On the left is the lure of semi-clothed women, sirens representing the sins of the flesh; on the right are virtuous women engaged in reading, devotions and caring for others. The panoramic scale as well as the moralism would have appealed to the Victorians, while the technicalities involved would have impressed those interested in the new art of photography. One such was Prince Albert himself, who bought three versions of it (see Hacking).
Right: The side showing the sins of the flesh (slightly enhanced version). Left: The side showing virtuous women.
Juliet Hacking tells us that Rejlander's preparations, involving a number of individual studies for the figures, and the joining of thirty images, took him six weeks. The finished work was first shown at the Manchester Art Treasures Exhibition of 1857 (see Hacking, and Yoxall 19). Despite the appeal of its moralism, it was deemed “indelicate” and opened "long-drawn-out discussions about the question of whether photography was a suitable technique for creating 'that sort of thing'” (Strasser 60). Naturally, it was the left side, with its half-dressed figures, that offended people. In fact, the Photographic Society of Scotland refused to exhibit it at first (see Yoxall 23), and when they finally showed it in 1858, they hid that side with a discreet curtain. The subtitle, or alternative title, emphasises the idea that that side must be foresworn.
Bibliography
Hacking, Juliet. "Rejlander, Oscar Gustaf (1813–1875), photographer." Oxford Dictionary of National Biography. Online ed. Web. 20 July 2019.
Strasser, Alex. Victorian Photography. London: The Focal Press, 1942.
Created 21 July 2019