The exhibition, What they saw, what we see, presents the work of three amateur women photographers — Margarida Relvas (1867–1930), Mariana Relvas (1862–1952) and Maria da Conceição de Lemos Magalhães (1863–1949) — developed between the late 19th century and the early 20th century in Portugal.
This is the first time that these works are presented individually and together. They provide an insight into the romantic-inspired photographic aesthetic and the transition to a pictorialist.
The result of a partnership between the National Museum of Contemporary Art and the Porto Museum, this is the second and final of two exhibitions dedicated to the work of these photographers, following on from the previous exhibition at the Marta Ortigão Sampaio House Museum in Porto.
Margarida Relvas and Mariana Relvas were the daughter and second wife, respectively, of Carlos Relvas (1838–1894) — one of Portugal’s leading amateur photographers of the 19th century. Under his technical and aesthetic guidance, they took a body of images for which they have been confirmed as the legitimate authors, through study of the respective sources. This has made it possible to include them, finally and without reservation, in the broader panorama of other amateur and professional photographers, most of whom are unknown or ignored within the History of Photography.
Margarida Relvas’ work is the result of her approach as a dilettante photographer, affirming herself as the “élève de son père” (her father’s pupil). This can be understood within the nineteenth-century framework of a more progressive haute bourgeoisie mentality, which demanded that women should have access to other disciplines of technical knowledge, beyond the usual trilogy of drawing, speaking French and playing the piano. She preferred studio portraits, landscapes and still lifes, demonstrating technical expertise and a clearly Romantic-inspired gaze.
Mariana Relvas, on the other hand, is an unprecedented case of a photographic duo in 19th century Portugal, since she co-authored many studio portraits with her husband, Carlos Relvas. Her style as an autonomous author is more evident in her landscapes, although one of the most significant works of the couple’s collaboration was the album, Hespanha França e Suissa (Spain, France and Switzerland, 1889).
In the light of current research, Maria da Conceição de Lemos Magalhães is the most prolific and consistent amateur photographer of the early 20th century in Portugal. With a vast body of work, she was part of the small circle of enthusiasts who wanted to create a movement of Pictorialist photographers, similar to other international initiatives. Her favourite subjects were landscapes, rural labour and the representation of women in natural environments. She explored all the aesthetic possibilities of nature, aware of artistic developments underway in international photography at the time.
This exhibition is the result of Susana Lourenço Marques’ research into the amateur women photographers Margarida Relvas, Mariana Relvas and Maria da Conceição de Lemos Magalhães, associated with the research project WOMENPHOT.PT, that aims to map and disseminate knowledge about the activity of women photographers in Portugal.