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Call, I Follow, I Follow, Let Me Die!
Julia Margaret Cameron, born 1815 - died 1879 - Enlarge image
Call, I Follow, I Follow, Let Me Die!; Portrait of Mary Hillier
- Object:
Photograph
- Place of origin:
Isle of Wight, England (photographed)
- Date:
1867 (photographed)
after 1867 (printed)
1870-75 (printed) - Artist/Maker:
Julia Margaret Cameron, born 1815 - died 1879 (photographer)
- Materials and Techniques:
Carbon print from copy negative
- Credit Line:
Gift of Miss Perrin, 1939
- Museum number:
15-1939
- Gallery location:
Prints & Drawings Study Room, level C, case TECHS
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
Although posed as a tragic heroine from Arthurian legend, in reality the model, Mary Ann Hillier, was employed as Cameron's parlour maid.
Subjects Depicted
Cameron concentrates upon the head of the woman by using a darkened background and draping the figure in simple dark cloth. The lack of surrounding detail or context obscures references to narrative, identity or historical context. You are left to focus on the expression of the sitter. The mood implied is one of melancholy, suffering and abandon. Yet the flowing hair, lightly parted lips and exposed neck also suggest sensuality. Cameron sometimes called this photograph 'Call, I follow, I follow, let me die!. The title, taken from a line in the poem 'Lancelot and Elaine' from Alfred, Lord Tennyson's 'Idylls of the King', transforms the subject into a tragic heroine.
