In The Tempest, Shakespeare describes a society where people refuse to give a penny to a crippled beggar but eagerly pay ten pennies to see a dead Native American. With the invention of photography, this voyeuristic impulse transformed into the practice of capturing “group photos with the victim.” In the Qajar visual culture, such images were common, offering numerous examples of commemorative photographs featuring the condemned.
The Spectacle of Execution
One of Antoin Sevruguin’s photographs captures an execution platform in Tehran, surrounded by a crowd—all staring at the camera rather than the victim. The only exception is a single individual who has turned away. The presence of children suggests unrestricted access to executions, while the absence of women highlights the masculine nature of these rituals.
The striking aspect of the image is that the crowd seems more captivated by the camera than the execution itself. Instead of focusing on the victim’s body, they turn toward Sevruguin’s lens, revealing that the act of being photographed was more compelling than the spectacle of punishment. While executions under the Qajar court were tools of public control, they also became theatrical performances—ones that, with the advent of photography, turned into commodities for audiences beyond Iran, including European viewers fascinated by such images.
The Curious Eye: Fear, Pity, and Indifference
The presence of crowds at executions reflects both curiosity and catharsis—an emotional mix of fear and pity. The spectacle serves as a warning against disobedience yet also evokes sympathy for the condemned. However, in Sevruguin’s photograph, neither fear nor pity is evident. Instead, the defining element is a collective fixation on the camera. The victim becomes a mere prop, an excuse for public gathering, with the act of taking a photo serving as the spectacle’s final curtain—signaling that the performance is over.
Execution vs. Balloon Flight: A Study in Spectatorship
Comparing this execution scene to Ebrahim Khan Akasbashi photograph of the first balloon flight in Tabriz (Image 2) offers a striking contrast. In both images, a crowd is present, but their engagement differs. In the execution photo, the crowd turns away from the victim and toward the camera. In contrast, in the balloon flight image, they face the spectacle itself. The balloon—a new and unfamiliar phenomenon—commands their undivided attention, demonstrating an authentic reaction to novelty.
This comparison reveals the repetitive nature of executions, which had become mundane for the crowd. They turn their backs on the execution because it is familiar; they prefer to commemorate themselves in a group photograph. In contrast, the balloon flight is unprecedented, even more novel than the camera itself, and thus elicits genuine wonder.
The Qajar Fascination with Group Photos
The Qajar era’s visual culture had a particular fixation on group photographs, especially those involving acts of punishment. Among them were images of falaka (foot whipping), where the condemned person was immobilized while the punishment was administered. Sevruguin captured multiple photographs of such scenes, which were circulated as popular postcards.
In one outdoor falaka scene (Image 3), the audience’s gaze is split—some stare at the victim, while others focus on the camera. As with execution photographs, women are absent, reinforcing the masculine nature of punishment spectacles. Unlike execution images, however, these photographs emphasize the act of punishment rather than the victim’s face.
Another falaka image (Image 4) shows a more exclusive audience, consisting of elite figures rather than the general public. Their clothing suggests they belong to the ruling class, indicating that this spectacle was intended for a different kind of viewership—one that affirmed elite control. Among them, a man holding a pen and paper stands directly above the victim. Is he writing something, or merely posing? What is he recording?
Punishment as a Public Display of Power
A separate image captures falaka inside a traditional school (maktab-khaneh), where students observe a fellow pupil being punished. Here, the perpetrators and spectators belong to the same class as the victim, emphasizing punishment as an internalized disciplinary practice. Unlike the execution scenes, this setting suggests that spectators are secondary to the event itself.
These photographs are not mere representations of punishment; they reveal how different social groups engaged with public discipline. While for locals, execution postcards served as a reminder of social order, for European viewers, they framed the East as an exotic, historical curiosity.
Conclusion: The Camera as an Instrument of Discipline
In Qajar Iran, the camera played a dual role: it documented state power while also transforming public spectacles into visual commodities. Group photographs with victims reflect a culture of surveillance and control, where photography itself became a disciplinary tool. Just as the Qajar court staged public punishments as theatrical acts, the camera shaped how people saw and experienced these events.
By standing before Sevruguin’s lens, the crowd asserts themselves not as passive subjects but as active participants in a new visual order. Whether at an execution or a balloon flight, their gaze reveals what they considered worth witnessing—and, ultimately, how they positioned themselves within history.
Amir Nasri
For the full text, refer to the book “Entertainment in Public” Project.
