The sitter here is Julia Margaret Cameron's maid, Mary Hillier. Lilies were a popular Aesthetic motif and, along with the flowing hair and drapery, they add to the carefully constructed beauty of the composition. The title refers to the angel at the sepulchre after Christ's resurrection, though in the biblical account the angel was male.
Physical description
Photograph of a woman's head (Mary Hillier) viewed from the side, with long hair and material draped over her head. There are white lillies at the bottom of the frame.
Place of Origin
Isle of Wight, England (photographed)
Date
1869-70 (photographed)
Artist/maker
Julia Margaret Cameron, born 1815 - died 1879 (photographer)
Materials and Techniques
Albumen print from wet collodion glass negative
Marks and inscriptions
'From Life / Julia Margaret Cameron'
'REGISTERED PHOTOGRAPH, sold by MESSrs COLNAGHI, 14 Pall Mall East, London'
Dimensions
Height: 353 mm, Width: 256 mm
Object history note
Gift of Alan S. Cole Esq., 19 April 1913.
Descriptive line
Photograph by Julia Margaret Cameron, 'The Angel at the Sepulchre' (sitter Mary Hillier), albumen print, 1869-70
Bibliographic References (Citation, Note/Abstract, NAL no)
Colin Ford, Julia Margaret Cameron:19th Century Photographer of Genius (London, National Portrait Gallery, 2003), p.128.
Exhibition History
British Galleries (Victoria and Albert Museum)
Julia Margaret Cameron:19th Century Photographer of Genius (National Portrait Gallery 01/01/2003-31/12/2003)
Labels and date
The sitter here is Julia Margaret Cameron's maid, Mary Hillier. Lilies were a popular Aesthetic motif and, along with the flowing hair and drapery, they add to the carefully constructed beauty of the composition. The title refers to the angel at the sepulchre after Christ's resurrection, though in the biblical account the angel was male.
Object Type
This photograph was produced by Julia Margaret Cameron (1815-1879) as a work of fine art to be shown in the context of a museum or gallery. It was not intended for mass reproduction, or as a portrait of the sitter, but as an artistic expression in its own right.
People
The sitter is Cameron's maid, Mary Ann Hillier (1847-1936), who Cameron described as 'one of the most beautiful and constant of my models, and in every manner of form has her face been reproduced, yet never has it been felt that the grace of the fashion of it has perished.' (Annals of my Glass House (1874). Hillier began working as Cameron's parlour maid in 1861, aged 14, and remained in her service as maid and model until 1875.
Subjects Depicted
Lilies were a popular Aesthetic motif and, along with the flowing hair and drapery, they add to the carefully constructed beauty of the composition. The title refers to the angel at the sepulchre after Christ's resurrection, though in the biblical account the angel was male. Cameron could be conflating the image of the angel with Mary Magdalene, penitant prostitute who was the first to see Christ following his Resurrection.
Materials
Photographic paper
Techniques
Albumen process
Subjects depicted
Christianity; Religion; Mary Magdalene (Saint); Hillier, Mary Ann
Categories
Religion; Christianity; Photographs
Collection code
PDP
