7/29/2019 visualising Risorgimento

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1/20/13 Garibaldi and the Risorgimento

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Garibaldi & the 19th Century Illustrated Press

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The pictorial newspaper made its appearance in Europe in the early 19th century and by mid-centurywas well established. Leading papers including the Illustrated London News, l'Illustration, and theIllustrierte Leipzig, and in the United States, Leslie's and Harper's Weekly, were popular subscriptionswith the middle and upper classes. The challenge to provide images of events and people that manyhad read previously in the traditional papers was met by employing some of the finest i llustrators of theday who traveled the world in search of the latest stories or topical subjects. It was the first form of massmedia that provided illustrations to familiarize the public with the unfolding world events as well as toinform and educate those less traveled about different cultures, societies, and physical environments.

The dawn of the illustrated paper coincided with the revolutions sweeping across Europe in the late1840's as well as colonial adventures in Asia and Africa, so there was a plethora of subjects for the

illustrators. Conflict was a popular subject and subscriptions increased during times of war. In the1850's for instance, Britain was embroiled in several major conflicts on the Crimean peninsula, in Indiaand in China, and trailing the armies were the 'special artists'. (Prime minister Camillo Benso, the countof Cavour and a central figure in the Italian Risorgimento, sent an expedition of Bersaglieri from theKingdom of Sardinia to participate in the Crimean conflict. Illustrations of their uniforms are preservedin the Anne S.K. Brown Military Collection). Papers in search of visual material also invited readersto submit their sketches, and soldiers on campaign frequently did just that. Even photographs wereused as sources for the wood engravings, especially portraits. When the pencil sketches andwatercolors arrived in the newspaper offices, they were handed to teams of engravers who transferredthe images onto wooden blocks that were then engraved. Maps were specially drawn to guide thereaders to the various events. The blocks were bolted to lines of metal text and the whole inked. Timewas of the essence and editors became impatient when the mails were delayed as competition amongpapers was rife.

Garibaldi's flamboyant character and his attempts towards the unification of Italy were frequentlyprofiled in the illustrated press. Once again, here was a subject to thrill the readership and papersspared no expense in dispatching artists to the region, among them young Thomas Nast, representingthe New York Illustrated News, who created the 1860 portrait of Colonel John Whitehead Peard, alsofound in the Brown military collection.

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