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Sappho
Julia Margaret Cameron, born 1815 - died 1879 - Enlarge image
Sappho
- Object:
Photograph
- Place of origin:
Isle of Wight, England (photographed)
- Date:
1865 (photographed)
- Artist/Maker:
Julia Margaret Cameron, born 1815 - died 1879 (photographer)
- Materials and Techniques:
Albumen print from wet collodion glass negative
- Credit Line:
Gift of Alan S. Cole, Esq., 1913
- Museum number:
947-1913
- Gallery location:
Prints & Drawings Study Room, level H, case PX1, shelf 1
Sappho was a 7th Century Greek B.C.E. poetess who lived on the island on Lesbos and wrote of romantic love between women. Plato elevated her to the status of "Muse" and Julia Margaret Cameron's profile portrait, which emphasises the strength of Hillier's facial features, depicts her as heroic and intelligent. Hillier wears a necklace of gold coins (coins were minted in her image during her lifetime) and an embroidered jacket. Her costume suggests individuality and creates a visually elaborate pattern, enhancing the simplicity of the top half of the photograph. Cameron continued to make prints from the negative despite the large crack in the left hand corner of the glass.
