During May 2023, I travelled to the glorious Isle of Wight on a research trip. It was there that my eyes were opened to the brilliance of Julia Margaret Cameron for the very first time. During my trip, I visited two treasure troves near Freshwater that every Pre-Raphaelite enthusiast should know about: Dimbola Museum and Galleries and Farringford Estate and Gardens. Dimbola was the home of Cameron, and is a museum that is dedicated to her life and legacy that not only showcases a number of Cameron’s possessions and original materials, but hosts contemporary exhibitions from photographers around the world. Farringford, the home of Alfred Lord Tennyson also holds a number of Cameron’s works and illustrates the incredible friendship and working partnership between Tennyson and Cameron. If you wish to hear more of Dimbola and Farringford, then do listen to the Pre-Raphaelite Society Podcast episode that I recorded with Dr Brian Hinton last year!
In light of my new found love for Cameron and appreciation for photography, I have been lucky enough to receive a copy of Fazio’s latest work: Julia Margaret Cameron: A Poetry of Photography. Drawing on over 100 photographs from the collections held at Ashmolean Museum and the Bodleian Library, as well as comparative works of art, this book celebrates a collection that illustrates the Cameron’s artistic development from her earliest pictures to her most poetic photographs. Above all, this wonderful book looks at how Cameron explores the relationship between photography and poetry in her work: both through her response to the verses of others and her creation of a visual language of her own.
The book is split into two sections – the essays and the plates. I quite like the book’s structure, as it enables readers to view the art separately from the artist’s biography. Personally, I find it refreshing to be able to look at an artist’s portfolio of work without having to read an accompanying commentary. The essays themselves are very insightful: they explore Cameron’s life, how she fitted (or didn’t fit) into the nineteenth century art community, male-dominated photography, and how her approaches differed from other artists of her time.
What I had no idea about was that Cameron actually wrote and translated poetry of her own (which feature in this book). More so, she had a great appreciation for the works of others. Her admiration of Tennyson as both a friend and an artist created some of her best works. A favourite Cameron of mine that features in this book is Maud (1875), an accompanying photograph to Tennyson’s poem of the same name (1855). I had the pleasure in viewing this work in person at Farringford. The photograph is striking to look at, and there’s a verse form Tennyson’s poem written by his own hand underneath. I think that Maud really encapsulates Cameron’s craftsmanship as a photographer, not to mention her manipulation (intentional or otherwise) of the work itself with distortions, smudges and variable focus, all changing the outcome of the image. I also think this work is a perfect example of the relationship between poetry and photography that Fazio aims to get across in her book.
I liked how Fazio presented photographs on the same subject together, for example it was interesting seeing the different versions of The Whisper of the Muse (1865). It was interesting to read more of her friendship with the painter and sculptor G.F Watts, whom she considered one of her closest friends. Like Cameron, Watts was preoccupied with reconciling traditional content in art with modern forms of expression and sought to improve the condition of mankind through his art. Cameron once wrote that Watts gave her ‘such encouragement that I felt as if I had wings to fly with’, which is beautifully captured in Cameron’s works that he modelled for. I particularly enjoyed this chapter, as it really illustrates the creative (and sometimes complex) partnership that both Cameron and Watts enjoyed.
All in all, this is a book about Cameron’s art, rather than just a biography, and a look at how her work fits within the artistic and poetic framework of her time. It is a beautifully presented book, and it was a pleasure to read. All aspects of Cameron’s artistry are here from the gentle religious pieces, the famous figures, the children and the ever-present Tennysonian verses. As a relatively new fan of Cameron, I do not think enough has been written about Cameron’s influence on other artists, concentrating instead on those that influenced her (aside from Kirsty Stonell-Walker’s book which kick-started my interest in the first place!). Yet, I do not think it is possible to look through this book and not see the impact she had on the development of photography as an art form and the world of art as a whole. I can only hope that Cameron will one day receive the attention that she deserves as an artist and innovator… perhaps in a future exhibition? Someone make it happen!
Muse & Matriarchy 