Twee portretten van Rinzuig Havegyal before 1886

These two portraits of Rinzuig Havegyal were made with photography by Paolo Mantegazza sometime in the 19th century. Mantegazza was an Italian physician, physiologist, anthropologist, and politician with a keen interest in documenting human diversity. This image appears in an album of ethnographic portraits, a genre that gained popularity with the rise of scientific racism in the 19th century, as anthropology became an established institutionalized science. These portraits were often made as a form of documentation for scientific study, reflecting a prevailing European fascination with and attempt to classify non-Western peoples. The subjects of these portraits, like Rinzuig Havegyal, were often exoticized and objectified. To truly understand an image like this we can consider the historical context and the photographer's intentions, which are vital in interpreting the meaning and impact of such imagery. Resources such as the photographer's writings and anthropological studies from the period can provide valuable context.