Victorian Giants - The Birth of Art Photography
During the early years of photography, having one’s picture taken was an event comparable to having one’s portrait painted - although much more affordable-, and the image produced had a social relevance without equal today.
However, photography was a media used merely to capture reality exactly as it was, without adornment, and the long time required for a correct exposure meant that the sitters sometimes even had to use metal frames so as not to move, and have their eyes retouched later due to the inevitable blur caused by blinking.
Author Unknown, Victorian girl, c 1857.
Nowadays, taking pictures has become so easy and accessible to all, that we forget that capturing images wasn’t always such a banal act as merely pressing a button. It required a specific knowledge, practice, and a specialization involving physics (types of lenses, aperture, light, etc.) mathematics (to calculate the required time of exposure), and chemistry ( to prepare the chemicals to develop and fix the plates, and make prints on specially prepared surfaces).
All of these comes to mind when we visit the latest photographic exhibition at the National Portrait Gallery, highlighting the groundbreaking work of four British Victorian photographers: Julia Margaret Cameron, Clementina Harward, Lewis Carroll and Oscar Rejlander.
Lewis Carroll, "Alice Lidell", 1858.
The first known photograph as we know them (an actual print of an image) was first achieved in 1827 by Nicéphore Niépce. In 1838, Louis Daguerre managed to reduce the time of exposure considerably - from several hours to a few minutes - thus being able to produce the first known photograph of a person.
In 1839, Robert Cornelius took the first self-portrait, becoming thus the great grand father of all ‘selfies’.
However, by 1851 the Daguerrotype technique was replaced by the wet-plate collodion process, which greatly simplified the photographic process and would remain in use until it was replaced by the gelatin dry plate in the late 1870.
Most of the pictures displayed on this exhibition correspond to the wet-plate collodion process.
Although some may now see them as ‘stiff old things’, each one of the photographs in this exhibition was ground-breaking at its time, some even slightly scandalous, and contributed to widen the public’s conception about this budding art, advancing photography from its then limited use to the more imaginative medium that it is today: an Art form in its own right.
The new wet-plate collodion technique also helped in this advance. For the first time, people in these photographs weren’t stiff, remote figures but natural, exuding life and emotion - even sensuality - through every pore.
Moreover, each of these artists found in photography the perfect media to express their ideals and vision, something which was unheard of until then, and was met with no little resistance in the artistic community of the time.
The exhibition at the National Portrait Gallery - the largest of its kind on this subject - consists of nearly a hundred photographs of small and medium formats drawn from the Gallery’s own archives, and museums and private collections from around the world, including the Tate Gallery Archives, the Gernsheim Collection, the Wilson Centre for Photography, the Victoria & Albert Museum, Musee d’Orsay, the Ashmolean Museum, the Dietmar Siegert collection, the Munchner Stadtmuseum, and the Moderna Museet Stockholm.
Of particular notice is the direct sponsorship of the Royal Family, who not only lent two works from its private collection for this exhibition, but also included the patronage of HRH The Duchess of Cambridge.
However, by 1851 the Daguerrotype technique was replaced by the wet-plate collodion process, which greatly simplified the photographic process and would remain in use until it was replaced by the gelatin dry plate in the late 1870.
Most of the pictures displayed on this exhibition correspond to the wet-plate collodion process.
Clementina Hawarden, "Photographic Study", 1863.
Although some may now see them as ‘stiff old things’, each one of the photographs in this exhibition was ground-breaking at its time, some even slightly scandalous, and contributed to widen the public’s conception about this budding art, advancing photography from its then limited use to the more imaginative medium that it is today: an Art form in its own right.
The new wet-plate collodion technique also helped in this advance. For the first time, people in these photographs weren’t stiff, remote figures but natural, exuding life and emotion - even sensuality - through every pore.
Moreover, each of these artists found in photography the perfect media to express their ideals and vision, something which was unheard of until then, and was met with no little resistance in the artistic community of the time.
The exhibition at the National Portrait Gallery - the largest of its kind on this subject - consists of nearly a hundred photographs of small and medium formats drawn from the Gallery’s own archives, and museums and private collections from around the world, including the Tate Gallery Archives, the Gernsheim Collection, the Wilson Centre for Photography, the Victoria & Albert Museum, Musee d’Orsay, the Ashmolean Museum, the Dietmar Siegert collection, the Munchner Stadtmuseum, and the Moderna Museet Stockholm.
Of particular notice is the direct sponsorship of the Royal Family, who not only lent two works from its private collection for this exhibition, but also included the patronage of HRH The Duchess of Cambridge.
An Art Historian, the Duchess herself selected an array of works and commented on them, as well as writing the foreword of the Exhibition’s Catalogue.
However, this interest should not surprise us, since queen Victoria and Prince Albert were already keen supporters of photography from its very start.
Although not displayed in chronological order, the exhibition is first divided by author - starting with Oscar Rejlander, continuing with Julia Margaret Cameron, Clementina Hawarden and finally Lewis Carroll- and then by subject matter: portraits of the Lidells, the Tennysons, children, cultural and social figures of the time, artistic inspirations, etc.
The four photographers chosen for this exhibition belonged to the same ‘school’ of photography, represented by Swedish British photographer Oscar Rejlander, who taught both Julia Margaret Cameron and Clementina Harward.
However, this interest should not surprise us, since queen Victoria and Prince Albert were already keen supporters of photography from its very start.
Although not displayed in chronological order, the exhibition is first divided by author - starting with Oscar Rejlander, continuing with Julia Margaret Cameron, Clementina Hawarden and finally Lewis Carroll- and then by subject matter: portraits of the Lidells, the Tennysons, children, cultural and social figures of the time, artistic inspirations, etc.
The four photographers chosen for this exhibition belonged to the same ‘school’ of photography, represented by Swedish British photographer Oscar Rejlander, who taught both Julia Margaret Cameron and Clementina Harward.
However, each author developed a particular style drawn from their own interests, personalities and sensibilities.
For instance, comparing the work of the two ladies in the group, we notice that Lady Clementina Hawarden’s images are mainly populated by women and usually constrained to indoor settings with dramatic lighting.
For instance, comparing the work of the two ladies in the group, we notice that Lady Clementina Hawarden’s images are mainly populated by women and usually constrained to indoor settings with dramatic lighting.
Meanwhile, although the main subjects in Julia Margaret Cameron’s work are also women, she was inspired by Arthurian legends, works of Literature and Mythology, often framing the face in close ups and imprinting her images with a poetic sensibility.
This difference is even made even more patent when we compare different portraits of the same subject by different authors, such as Lord Tennyson and Charles Darwin (both photographed by Julia Margaret Cameron and Oscar Rejlander) and Alice Lidell (photographed by Lewis Carroll and Julia Margaret Cameron).
As a photographer, Lewis Carroll is most famous for his pictures of Alice Lidell - the source of inspiration for his ‘Alice in Wonderland’ -, but this exhibition shows the wider scope of subjects that posed for his lens. Owner of a special sensibility towards children, Carroll depicted them always under a benign light, often in disguises or in scenes that echo stories from children’s books.
Of the four photographers, Oscar Rejlander has the most prominent representation, with nearly 40 prints. Part of this is due to his extensive catalogue of subject matters, which ranged from children to allegories, artistic evocations and formal portraits.
One of his most interesting facets, however, was his artistic experimentation with the media, mixing different negatives in order to create an entirely new image, which has recently earned him the title of ‘Father of Photoshop’.
Although some of these tricks produced images of dubious taste, the print exhibited here, ‘The Two Ways of Life’, is probably its most masterful achievement, combining over 30 different negatives to produce one single image, an allegory of the photographer himself being tempted by good and evil.
The work was severely received by the audience and the critic of the time, but Queen Victoria and Prince Albert commended the work and bought three copies for their private collection.
Although British Victorian photographers are often associated with the Pre-Raphaelite brotherhood - particularly Julia Margaret Cameron - , in fact their relationship was not as close as we might suppose.
Clementina Hawarden, "Isabella Grace Maude, 5 Princes Garden", c1863.
Clementina Hawarden, "Agnes and Lionel", 1862.
Julia Margaret Cameron, "Mountain Nymph", 1866.
Julia Margaret Cameron, "Alethia" (Alice Lidell), 1872.
This difference is even made even more patent when we compare different portraits of the same subject by different authors, such as Lord Tennyson and Charles Darwin (both photographed by Julia Margaret Cameron and Oscar Rejlander) and Alice Lidell (photographed by Lewis Carroll and Julia Margaret Cameron).
As a photographer, Lewis Carroll is most famous for his pictures of Alice Lidell - the source of inspiration for his ‘Alice in Wonderland’ -, but this exhibition shows the wider scope of subjects that posed for his lens. Owner of a special sensibility towards children, Carroll depicted them always under a benign light, often in disguises or in scenes that echo stories from children’s books.
Lewis Carroll, "Hallam Tennyson", 1857.
Lewis Carroll, "Kate Terry as Andromeda", 1865.
Lewis Carroll, "Xie Kitchin in Greek Dress", 1875.
Of the four photographers, Oscar Rejlander has the most prominent representation, with nearly 40 prints. Part of this is due to his extensive catalogue of subject matters, which ranged from children to allegories, artistic evocations and formal portraits.
Oscar Rejlander, "Non Angeli Sed Angeli", 1857.
One of his most interesting facets, however, was his artistic experimentation with the media, mixing different negatives in order to create an entirely new image, which has recently earned him the title of ‘Father of Photoshop’.
Although some of these tricks produced images of dubious taste, the print exhibited here, ‘The Two Ways of Life’, is probably its most masterful achievement, combining over 30 different negatives to produce one single image, an allegory of the photographer himself being tempted by good and evil.
The work was severely received by the audience and the critic of the time, but Queen Victoria and Prince Albert commended the work and bought three copies for their private collection.
Oscar Rejlader, "The Two Ways of Life", 1857.
Although British Victorian photographers are often associated with the Pre-Raphaelite brotherhood - particularly Julia Margaret Cameron - , in fact their relationship was not as close as we might suppose.
Although they shared common friends and associates, their sources of inspiration were different : the Pre-Raphaelites favoured medieval authenticity, while the photographers were inspired by the Baroque and Dutch Golden Age painting.
Moreover, the Pre-Raphaelites considered photographs as too literal representations of reality, devoid of any real artistry, a concept that only echoed the sentiment of the era.
In addition to prints, the exhibition also displays two original photo albums (one belonging to Oscar Rejlander, and the other to Lewis Carroll), each one including over 60 original prints, a stereographic image (3D) by Clementina Hawarden, original plates, and two videos of about 4 minutes each, with deepen into the images contained in Rejlander’s album and on the Photography Techniques of the 19th Century.
Most of the prints presented are original, but some are modern albumen prints made from the original negatives, following the technique used at the time.
Although we may have seen some of these images reproduced before, nothing compares to seeing the original print, notice its fine grain and witness the amazing sharpness and level of detail of some of them, as if they had been taken only minutes ago.
In addition to prints, the exhibition also displays two original photo albums (one belonging to Oscar Rejlander, and the other to Lewis Carroll), each one including over 60 original prints, a stereographic image (3D) by Clementina Hawarden, original plates, and two videos of about 4 minutes each, with deepen into the images contained in Rejlander’s album and on the Photography Techniques of the 19th Century.
Oscar Rejlander, "Lewis Carroll" (cleaning a photo lens), 1863.
Most of the prints presented are original, but some are modern albumen prints made from the original negatives, following the technique used at the time.
Although we may have seen some of these images reproduced before, nothing compares to seeing the original print, notice its fine grain and witness the amazing sharpness and level of detail of some of them, as if they had been taken only minutes ago.
Only then we truly realize the level of excellence and the masterful artistry of each of these pioneers.
The exhibition also includes a series of related events, such as lectures, life drawing classes and workshops. For information on these, please check the NPG’s link below.
Event: Victorian Giants: The Birth of Art Photography
Location: National Portrait Gallery, St. Martin’s Place, London WC2H 0HE (Tube: Charing Cross)
Dates: March 1st - May 20th
Hours: Daily 10 - 6pm, Thursdays and Fridays open until 9pm
Cost: £ 10 , £ 8 Concessions
More Info: https://www.npg.org.uk/whatson/victorian-giants/exhibition/
Header Picture: Oscar Rejlander, "Unidentified Young Woman", c1864.
Video: Interview with the Curator of the Exhibition, Phillip Prodger (2:32")*
The exhibition also includes a series of related events, such as lectures, life drawing classes and workshops. For information on these, please check the NPG’s link below.
Open until May 20th.
Julia Margaret Cameron, "Sadness/Ellen Terry", 1864.
Event: Victorian Giants: The Birth of Art Photography
Location: National Portrait Gallery, St. Martin’s Place, London WC2H 0HE (Tube: Charing Cross)
Dates: March 1st - May 20th
Hours: Daily 10 - 6pm, Thursdays and Fridays open until 9pm
Cost: £ 10 , £ 8 Concessions
More Info: https://www.npg.org.uk/whatson/victorian-giants/exhibition/
Header Picture: Oscar Rejlander, "Unidentified Young Woman", c1864.
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