Victorian Photography

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Victorian Photography

• ENL 3251
• 11/8/10

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Victorian Photography

• The invention of photography influenced the style
  of literature and art in Victorian England
• Ability to precisely copy nature created a
  standard by which other media were judged
• Visual nature of photography led to demand for
  visual imagery in literature
• Question of whether or not photography was an art
• Very accurate at depicting details
• Not so good at creating a whole composition
• Anybody can do it
• Literature and art should show signs of human
  ingenuity

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Photography and Realism

• In some ways, photography is considered the
  ultimate form of realism
• Can perfectly copy appearances of things
• In other ways, it falls short of realist
  depictions
• Literature and art should show signs of human
  intervention
• Realism is a literary and artistic technique
• Realism should show signs of human intervention

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Brief History of Photography

• Camera obscura
• A dark room with a pinhole opening that reflects
  an image, upside-down onto a wall
• Image can be traced from the wall onto paper
• Works like the human eye
• Existed at least since 16th century
• Probably much older (ancient cultures)

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Brief History of Photography

• Early nineteenth-century saw attempts to create
  images using chemicals and light
• Earliest efforts couldnt render the image
  permanent
• First permanent image made in France, in 1827, by
  Joseph Niépce
• Required eight hours of exposure to create

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Brief History of Photography

• Niépce teams up with Louis Daguerre in 1829
• After Niépces death, Daguerre continues
  experiments
• Brings exposure time to 1/2 an hour
• Calls invention the daguerrotype in 1839

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Brief History of Photography

• In England, Henry Fox Talbot invents the
  callotype in 1839
• Can be reproduced, which was a huge adventure
  over the daguerrotype
• Publishes book of photographs, The Pencil of
  Nature (1844)
• By 1851, exposure times reduced to several
  seconds
• Photography became widely accessible

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Art Photography

• Questions immediately raised over the status of
  photography as an art
• Considered more of a mechanical trade
• However, some attempt artistic techniques
• Combining negatives (Oscar Reijlander, Henry
  Peach Robinson)
• Soft Focus (Julia Margaret Cameron)

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Oscar Reijlander (1817-1875)

• Reijlanders The Two Ways of Life (1857)
• Combine negatives to create narrative scenes
• Groups photographed individually from models and
  over 30 different prints
• Controversial for nudity
• Criticized for exposing his technique
• In spite of patronage by Queen Victoria and
  Prince Albert, still died in poverty

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Oscar Reijlander, The Two Ways of Life (1857)
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Henry Peach Robinson (1830-1901)

• Admired Reijlander but criticized him for
  exposing his technique
• Also created images using composite of negatives
• Fading Away (1858) his most famous
• Created from five different negatives
• Controversial for depiction of painful subjects
• Much more successful than Reijlander

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Henry Peach Robinson, Fading Away (1858)
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Julia Margaret Cameron (1815-1879)

• Began photography as a hobby at the age of 49, in
  1863
• Daughter gave her camera as a present
• Became a widely known and highly respected
  photographer
• Did many portraits of famous figures
• Known for her use of soft-focus (glow)
• Also recreated literary scenes
• Influenced by the Pre-Raphaelites

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Julia Margaret Cameron,The Kiss of Peace (1869)
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Julia Margaret Cameron,Charles Darwin (1870)
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Julia Margaret Cameron,King Lear, allotting his
Kingdom to his three daughters (1872)
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Discussion Questions

• Is photography an art?
• Do literature and art need to show signs of human
  intervention?
• How might the invention of photography influenced
  some of the works weve read so far in class?
• How might modern day technologies and inventions
  have influenced our own expectations of
  literature and art?