The 19th century was the time of the Victorian era and the time of the industrial revolution, lots of different professions were developed further due to the discoveries made during this period. These discoveries also meant that civilization could grow such as the rise of the British Empire and the United States growing. This century is also where my specialist subject, photography, comes into play. The first recognizable camera was made during this era, which also kick started the film industry. A song from the Horrible Histories television tells of all the inventions during Queen Victoria's rein which was the majority of the19th century.
The 19th century was the time of discoveries and development because of one the most major discoveries made by one Charles Darwin. In 1859 Darwin published a book called On the Origin of Species which featured evidence that humans evolved from apes. This angered the church, the dominant power of the time, and scared many people of the time. All the inventors, and anyone who wanted to developed the human race, tried to show that we are very different from apes.
Along with people trying to further themselves in the 19th century, there were also people who were killing the human race. Two of the most famous serial killers during the 19th century were Jack the Ripper and Burke and Hare, all as vicious and nasty as each other. However, only one came to justice. Jack the Ripper murdered and mutilated at least 5 women prostitutes in the Whitechapel area between August and November 1888. Their names are well known in the history of crimes. Mary Ann Nichols, Annie Chapman, Elizabeth Stride, Catherine Eddowes and Mary Jane Kelly. All five women suffered from deep throat slashes and mutilation of the genitals, some missing organs. The Ripper was never caught and the case remains open. Burke and Hare were not as gruesome as Jack the Ripper,but did have a higher body count, as many as 17 murders. Burke and Hare would murder their victims by getting them drunk and inviting them back to their lodgings. After the two men would smother and compress the victims chest, possibly by having one sitting on the victim's chest, till dead. The two men sold the bodies to Doctor Robert Knoxx, so Knoxx could deliver lectures on the human body. Knoxx paid for the bodies as the law at the time stated only bodies of condemned criminals could be used and rival lecturer Doctor Alexander Monro had a agreement with some people high up to have the bodies delivered to himself. Knoxx was not charged with anything to do with the murders, claiming not to know where the bodies were from and Hare was granted immunity if he confessed, blaming Burke. Burke was hung January 1829 and his body was dissected by Monro after being hung.
The Jack the Ripper murders are the ones that interest me as these victims had their photos taken for police records. However, these photographs were not the same as police photographs that are taken during crime scenes today. The photographer of the Ripper murders focused on the victims faces as they believed that the eyes of a victim held the face of the murderer. Thus if they photographed the face they could search their eyes for the victim. Only Mary Jane Kelly has photographs that show her body as it was found, the other four were mortuary photographs. Below are the photographs of the victims that were taken during the search, these were most likely taken with the first camera.
Victim 1 - Mary Ann Nichols
Victim 2 - Annie Chapman
Victim 4 - Catherine Eddowes
Victim 3- Elizabeth Stride
Victim 5 - Mary Jane Kelly
How people imagine Jack the Ripper in the modern world
The use of photographing bodies was also used for the victims of the Titanic disaster in 1912. The bodies, once retrieved from the freezing sea were photographed then laid to rest. The photographs were then used for people to identify the unfortunate people who were lost on that night. This is also used in the modern day crime identification, though sometimes relatives are asked to see a photo of the body, or the body itself.
I have spoken of how photography was used during the 19th century, but nothing of how it came about. The first working camera that produced permanent images was made by Joseph Nicephore Niepce in 1826. Niepce's image was made on a plate that was exposed for as little as eight hours or as long as several days. This was the most successful of many attempts which has still survived today. The first successful attempt produced the image, however after continuous exposure to white light, the positive image on the plate was reduced to darkness. Nicepce died in 1833 of a stroke, however he left his notes to his partner Louis Daguerre. Daguerre then started to refine different aspects of their technique such as the chemicals the plate was coated in and the chemicals he used to develop the plates. After this many different people helped refine the photography process to produce negatives as we know them today. Some people like Lewis Carroll, Robert Cornelius and William Henry Fox Talbot, who stabilized photography onto paper. Colour photography was explored after the inital photography technique was made, however it wasn't until 1861 by the scottish James Clerk Maxwell by playing with chemicals again. However, the first colour photograph wasn't made till the 20th century, which is were my post shall be based.
The Renaissance period was 1500 - 1800 AD and it was originally born in Florence, it also spread to Venice, which was its trading port for Renaissance art. Along with the port came valuable treasures, which brought corruption, such as the Borgia family, who would portray their dominance, wealth and power through art. Some of the mediums that the Renaissance artists focused on are architecture, music, philosophy, science, technology, warfare, sculpture and painting. Although it was born in Italy, there were also English 'Renaissance' artists, however they are more commonly called Elizabethan writers, such as William Shakespeare, Christopher Marlowe, John Milton, Sir Thomas More and Francis Bacon. Other parts of Europe adopted the Renaissance style and so the human race developed even more. Some of the mediums that the Renaissance men focused on are architecture, science, technology, sculpture and painting. Below is the Horrible Histories, Renaissance Report.
Architecture
Renaissance architecture is most thought of and best seen in the home of Renaissance. Italy. More commonly it is best seen in the churches of Italy. the main focus of the Renaissance architecture was symmetry and order, such as a order to the columns being evenly spaced and designed the same. Domes and niches (shelf carved into the wall) are also key features for Renaissance architecture. The domes were used as great canvases for painters, such as the Sistine Chapel by Michelangelo. The idea of painting angels on these domes could be to make the church-goers feel closer to God. The niches were used to frame a statue, normally religious, and possible to protect it. Some niches were on the exterior and some on the exterior of churches. Modern houses also use niches as a way to present and protect items. William Shakespeare's Globe was based on a Greek amphitheatre, this was only one example of the Greek architecture theme that was present in the Renaissance era. The globe also brought royalty and peasants together in one building for the first time.
Michelangelo's Sistine Chapel
Science
Renaissance science furthered the development of medicine, alchemy and astronomy. Along with the development of these sciences, came famous names that practically everyone in the modern era knows, such as Galileo, Newton and Kepler. Leonardo da Vinci is also a name in science, however he is a famous name in all aspects of Renaissance. The aim of alchemy was to find a way turn lead into gold, which brought the philosopher stone legend into history. The development of astronomy was to explore space. Galileo famously was put under house arrest for proving that the Sun was the centre of the universe, not earth. Newton discovered gravity with the falling of an apple and Kepler discovered and studied the planetary movement.
Technology
Renaissance technology was most famous for the Guttenburg printing press and the musket. However, other things were invented during the Renaissance period, such as the newspaper (through the printing press), clocks, spectacles, telescopes, the submarine and gunpowder (which brought artillery). These inventions further warfare, such as the muskets and gunpowder, but also furthered crime, such as the Gunpowder Plot in 1605. Along with gunpowder, the submarine made in 1624, was created by Cornelius van Drebbel, however it is also said that Da Vinci drew the concept first, was also used to further warfare. Drebbel also took James I, the monarch at the time, on a test dive, which could last up to three hours. The first book the be printed from the Guttenburg Printing Press was the bible, due to the control of the church.
Fine Arts
Renaissance art is very focused on religion and the bible, almost all work was focused on a scene from the bible, such as Michelangelo's The Creation of Adam. However, the artists were not bound to produce religious work. Another theme that was largely popular in the Renaissance period was mythology, such as the Greek myths. The paintings of the renaissance brought perspective,depth, proportion, realism and light into work, which gave the paintings more life-like appearances. Leonardo da Vinci is obviously the most famous artists for Renaissance, however for painters he invented a new technique Sfumato which was a way of adding perspective and dimension to a piece of work, most clearly seen on the Mona Lisa. Below is some paintings from the Renaissance era and a short video from the TV series Horrible Histories about Leonardo da Vinci.
