The series Indigenous portraits is composed by different photographs of indigenous peoples from Argentina, Chile and Paraguay, which were produced between 1882 and 1906. The most part of this series comprises anthropometric photographs that were taken following precise rules.
By the end of nineteenth century anthropologists interested in the study of “human races” recommended all subjects being photographed naked, according to established anthropometric poses, making full-length or torso portraits.
The full-length photographs were taken in three different positions of the subject: frontal, profile and back, meanwhile the torso portraits used to be taken in front and profile. Although as we already said most of the photographs belong to these two anthropometric portrait types (especially numerous are the full-length and profile torso portraits) there are several images that do not fit in this classification, and could be considered in close relation both with the “artistic” and “ethnographic” portraits.
The provenance of these photographs is diverse. The major part of them were obtained as part of Museo de La Plata scientific research activities, such as those taken by order of Francisco Moreno (Buenos Aires, Argentina) in 1885, and those produced in the expeditions to Catamarca (Northwest Argentina) in 1893; to Patagonia by the end of 1895; to San Sebastián (Tierra del Fuego, Argentina) in 1896; to Paraguay in 1896-1897; and to Jujuy (Northwest Argentina) in 1906. A second group of photographs comes from other expeditions such as those of Crequi-Monfort to Tierra del Fuego (Chile and Argentina) in 1882-1883, Nicanor Larraín to Puerto Deseado (Patagonia, Argentina) in 1883; Charles de La Hitte to Villarrica (Paraguay) in 1894; and Carlos Spegazzini to Salta (Northwest Argentina) in 1905. A last group comprises photographic reproductions –which date of production is unknown- made by the Museum Photographic Service from original documents belonging in many cases to the two latter groups. In a few cases the provenance of these reproductions is unknown.
