University of Edinburgh 'Photography: a Victorian Sensation'
Essay: Choose one piece of work by a photographer or partnership of photographers featured in this course. Describe, discuss and evaluate this piece of work (500 words) to demonstrate why you think this photograph is important - for example, you may choose to focus on the significance of the photographer, of the photographic process or of the subject of the photograph. Remember that, in the Victorian period, very few people would have seen the images that we are showing in this course. Please make clear in your opening statement why you have chosen the image you are discussing.
1. In the submission, does the writer describe what the photograph depicts?
2. Does the writer identify the photographic process and explain how the image was produced?
3. Consider these questions:
· Is the work part of a series?
· Can it be related to other works by the photographer?
· How does the photograph relate to images by other practitioners?
4. Overall, do you think the writer has given a clear and convincing account of why they think that the photograph they have chosen is important?
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Early Daguerrian Photography and the Arts
The image that I have chosen for this short essay is ‘Portrait of an Artist’ by Louis Daguerre of 1843. Pierre Harmant, former archivist at the French Society of Photography believed the subject to be the painter and engraver Francois Jules Collignon. In combination with Daguerre’s earliest dated composition ‘still life in studio’ of 1837 (Société française de photographie) we can comfortably come to the apprehension that Daguerre conceived of his invention as one that stood alongside the already established ‘fine arts’ and a distinct form of artistic expression. This view becomes even more apparent considering how readily Daguerre’s contemporaries adopted this revolutionary technique as a means of self-expression. In the same year that the image of Collignon was taken, Camille Dolard created a self-portrait that emphasized the importance of the daguerreotype in the arts. Whilst in Paris, Dolard took the opportunity to photograph the acclaimed classical artist Ingres (1856/58) – which survives as a collodian glass negative at the Musee d’Orsay.
The process of creating a photographic image using the daguerreotype method is a complex one. The ‘Portrait of an Artist’ was no exception, and would have been created from a highly polished silver plated copper sheet, coated with iodide, then placed in a simple box camera and exposed. The exposure time was far greater than for modern cameras, and could be 30 minutes or more. After removing the plate it was exposed to fumes arising from a dish of heated mercury, then washed in a salt solution and dried. The final image is essentially a fragile layer of ‘dust’ on a plate, and therefore had to immediately encased behind glass.
Whilst many artists such as Edgar Degas and Thomas Eakins adopted photography in addition to their more traditional creative output, others commented on the clear distinctions between the two, and article published in the ‘Corsair’ - “The Pencil of Nature—A New Discovery,” of the 13th April 1839, stated:
‘Here, in truth, is a discovery launched upon the world, that must make a revolution in art… in what way, in what degree, will art be affected by it? Art is of two kinds, or more properly speaking, it has two walks, the imaginative and the imitative… It must be evident that the higher, the imaginative, cannot immediately be affected by the new discovery—it is not tangible to its power—the poetry of the mind cannot be submitted to this material process…’
The imaginative and poetic nature of the painter is clearly contrasted with the analytical objectivity of the camera at this early stage, and could still be said to be true today. It is interesting to observe that as photography continued to develop, practitioners of the fine arts, particularly painting developed methods and techniques that emphasized a greater contrast to the photographic image. Impressionism emerged at this crucial time in the history of art, from the 1860’s painters such a Claude Monet strove for a more realistic depiction of nature in art with the use of light and color. Their first exhibition was held in April, 1874, paradoxically in the studio of the photographer Nadar (Gaspard-Félix Tournachon).
Image details:
1. Daguerre, Louis Jacques Mande.’Portrait of an Artist.’ c. 1843. Daguerreotype. 15.6 x 13.0 cm., ¼ plate. 76:0168:0151. George Eastman Museum, Rochester, New York. USA.
2. Dollard, Camille. ‘Self Portrait in Painting Studio.’ c. 1843. Daguerreotype (full plate. 20.5 x 15.0 cm. 1997.56. Cleveland Museum of Art. Cleveland, Ohio. USA.
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