A nanny with child

A nanny with child

Photographs of Enslaved Black Women in Brazil

The photographer João Goston's contex with this photo is absent, and we know that the photographer of this image was active in Salvador de Bahia, Brasil, in the mid-late 19th century. This photograph depicts an enslaved nanny with a white baby sitting on her lap. The nanny is wearing a white and patterned dress with a white hair wrap, and various jewelry. The baby is held in her arms draped in a white gown. Although we don’t have context for the photographer’s relationship with the subjects, there are accounts of this Black woman’s experience as an enslaved wet nurse in Brazil. The wet nurse’s name was Ambrosina, she had her own baby while taking care of the white baby. Ambrosina did not have enough milk for both of the children, so her Black baby was forced to drink unpasteurized cow’s milk. She was so tired that she put a cloth in the white baby’s mouth to stop crying, but the baby choked and passed away. There are no accounts as to what happened to Ambrosina or her own child after the incident. In the image, the expression of the wet nurse is strained and exhausted, an energy that is reflected in the white baby's expression as well. Although the facial expressions of the subjects depict some stress, the overall contents and visual read of the photograph hide the fact that the enslaved woman was incredibly over-worked, tired, and disconnected from her own baby. Her relationship to her own Black baby has been erased.

João Goston

Goston, João. A Nanny with Child. Photograph. Moreira Salles Institute Database. Salvador de Bahia, Brasil, 1870. NPR https://www.npr.org/2015/09/12/439257489/brazil-enslaved

Garcia-Navarro, Lulu. “Brazil Enslaved.” NPR. NPR, September 12, 2015. https://www.npr.org/2015/09/12/439257489/brazil-enslaved

Moreira Salles Institure, NPR

1870

Moreira Salles Institute

jpg file

Portuguese

Salvador de Bahia

Photograph