Julia Margaret Cameron
History
Cameron, Julia MargaretBritish, 1815-1879
Her subject matter consisted exclusively of portraits and fancy-dress tableaux.
Her images were strongly influenced by the English Pre-Raphaelite painters, and nowhere more so than in her costume pieces illustrating religious, literary, poetic, and mythological themes. Although equally romantic in conception, it is principally her portraits that have entered the canon of art photography. Unique among contemporary portrait production, Cameron's photographs are notable for the extreme intimacy and psychological intensity of effect achieved by the use of extreme close-up, suppression of detail (sometimes accompanied by peripheral blurring), and dramatic lighting. The Pictorialist-Like effect of Cameron's work in fact was remarkably close in appearance and sensibility to much of the photography championed in Stieglitz's Camera Work. This certainly was a crucial factor in her rediscovery at the beginning of the 20th c. Her attempts, and success, at psychological penetration - conveying the inner spirit, in her terms - are recognized today as being decades ahead of their time.
Julia Jackson
1864/65
"My Favorite Picture of All My Works.
My Niece Julia."
April 1867
The Echo
1868
The Echo
1868
"My Ewen’s Bride (God’s Gift to Us)"
November 18, 1869
