Crayon enlarged photograph of a Surinamese woman by the important Surinamese artist, photographer, writer, poet and political activist George Gerhardus Theordorus Rustwijk (1862-1914). Rustwijk has received considerable attention in Dutch media in recent years due to a rediscovery of his work, but was almost unknown until 2020. His art can mostly be found in private collections and is exceptionally rare on the market.
The crayon enlargement was invented in the mid-19th century and was particularly popular in the Americas around the turn of the 20th century. It was the first photographic process that could produce large size images. Until then, a photograph could only be of the same size as its negative, meaning you needed a large negative if you wanted a large photograph. For crayon enlargements, the negative was projected onto a larger sheet of paper with a solar enlarger. Because this process made the image less sharp, the projection on the paper was corrected by hand with crayon or other drawing media. This technique allowed considerable artistic freedom in the final print and was primarily used for portraits of loved ones.
George Rustwijk was born in Paramaribo, Suriname, a few months before slavery was officially abolished in his country. His mother, Christina Rustwijk (1832-1863), was born in slavery, but freed in 1842. His father is unknown. Rustwijk worked as an art teacher, teaching drawing and painting in his home and at a night school between 1887 and 1897. The present work was made during this early period of his career and likely depicts a friend or family member.
Throughout his career, Rustwijk also wrote poetry, plays and speeches. His written work in particular is highly politically engaged. He addressed poverty, the high child mortality and bad hygiene in his country and blamed the colonial government for these issues. However, nowadays he is mostly known for his speeches, especially the speech he wrote in 1913, to celebrate the abolition of slavery 50 years prior. In it, he encourages the descendants of former enslaved people not to feel guilty that their ancestors had been enslaved, but to be happy about their current freedom and celebrate it wholeheartedly.
Signed and dated in the lower right corner. The photograph is somewhat creased and browned, which is common for crayon enlargements. Otherwise in good condition. Cf. Hinte, van, D., and Steenderen Rustwijk, van, G., Op het spoor van G. G. T. Rustwijk. In: Tijdschrift voor Surinaamse taalkunde, letterkunde en geschiedenis, 15, 1996, pp. 76-84.