Augusto Gomes Leal with the Wet Nurse Mônica

Augusto Gomes Leal with the Wet Nurse Mônica

Photographs of Enslaved Black Women in Brazil

Photographer Joao Ferreira Villela was active in Recife, Brasil in the mid-late 19th century. He has a studio in Recife, where he produced various photographic styles, including the business card photo style. He photographed this work of Augusto Gomes Leal with his wet nurse Monica in Recife in 1860. In this photo, the white child Augusto leans into his Wet Nurse Mônica, the boy is standing while the nurse is seated. The boy is dressed in a tailor suit with a bow tie, while the nurse is dressed in a draped and nice gown, with a large necklace. She is leaning against a pedestal and seated, while the boy stands and holds onto her. For an enslaved Wet nurse to a wealthy family, she is the one who does all of the caring and parenting of the children. The child would grow close to the wet nurse as she is the one who “mothers” the child. In this photograph, Augusto seems fond of his nurse, with a tired expression and posture. The nurse is stiff with a neutral expression. The relationship between these subjects is close, however it diminishes the violence and history of wet nurses of wealthy white families in its erasure of the Black woman’s actual lived experience as a slave.

Joao Ferreira

Ferreira Villela, Joao. Augusto Gomes Leal with the Wet Nurse Mônica. Photograph. Recife, 1860. https://brasilianafotografica.bn.gov.br/?tag=joao-ferreira-villela.

Wanderley, Andrea. “Joao Ferreira Villela.” Brasiliana Fotográfica. Accessed February 13, 2023. https://brasilianafotografica.bn.gov.br/?tag=joao-ferreira-villela. 

Cultural, Instituto Itaú. “João Ferreira Villela.” Enciclopédia Itaú Cultural. Accessed February 13, 2023. https://enciclopedia.itaucultural.org.br/pessoa21634/joao-ferreira-villela.

Brasiliana Fotografica

1860

Public Domain

jpg

Portuguese

Slavery in Brazil, 1860

Photograph