Joy
Photograph
ca. 1864 (photographed)
ca. 1864 (photographed)
| Artist/Maker | |
| Place of origin |
Like many of her contemporaries, Julia Margaret Cameron was a devout Christian. As a mother of six, the motif of the Madonna and child held particular significance for her. In aspiring to make ‘High Art’, Cameron aimed to make photographs that could be uplifting and morally instructive.
Within months of acquiring her camera, Cameron embarked on an ambitious series illustrating the nine Christian virtues. Many of the compositions resemble Renaissance paintings. Cameron struggled to represent abstract concepts such as goodness and temperance, as well as to distinguish each virtue from the others. She would not attempt another series until 1874, when she undertook the illustrations to Tennyson’s Idylls of the King. Cameron donated a set of all nine Fruits of the Spirit – mounted in a single frame – to the British Museum in January 1865.
Within months of acquiring her camera, Cameron embarked on an ambitious series illustrating the nine Christian virtues. Many of the compositions resemble Renaissance paintings. Cameron struggled to represent abstract concepts such as goodness and temperance, as well as to distinguish each virtue from the others. She would not attempt another series until 1874, when she undertook the illustrations to Tennyson’s Idylls of the King. Cameron donated a set of all nine Fruits of the Spirit – mounted in a single frame – to the British Museum in January 1865.
Object details
| Categories | |
| Object type | |
| Titles |
|
| Materials and techniques | Albumen print from wet collodion glass negative |
| Brief description | Photograph by Julia Margaret Cameron, 'Joy' (Mary Hillier), from the series Fruits of the Spirit, albumen print, 1864 |
| Physical description | Front on portrait of a woman (Mary Hillier) representing the virtue of Joy. Showing the torso, shoulders and head, the woman has her head draped with fabric and her hands are placed one on top of the other at ther chest. |
| Dimensions |
|
| Style | |
| Marks and inscriptions |
|
| Credit line | Transferred from the British Museum, 2000 |
| Object history | This photograph is one of a series of nine made in 1864 (Julia Margaret Cameron's first year of photography), known as "The Fruits of the Spirit". Cameron conceptualised the photographs in the sequence individually, inscribing the title on the mount of each print, corresponding to the virtues of love, joy, peace, long-suffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness and temperance as taught by Paul in the Galatians (5:22-3). The photographs show a model (Mary Hillier) as a contemplative Madonna and in all but one (Joy, V&A Ph 363-1981) posed in the manner of the Madonna and Child (with one or two infants), an often depicted and important subject in the history of art, particularly in Flemish and Italian Renaissance painting. Cameron's house maid Hillier appeared so frequently and convincingly in the guise of Madonna that she was known in the Freshwater circles as "Mary Madonna". |
| Subjects depicted | |
| Literary reference | Galatians 5:22-23 |
| Summary | Like many of her contemporaries, Julia Margaret Cameron was a devout Christian. As a mother of six, the motif of the Madonna and child held particular significance for her. In aspiring to make ‘High Art’, Cameron aimed to make photographs that could be uplifting and morally instructive. Within months of acquiring her camera, Cameron embarked on an ambitious series illustrating the nine Christian virtues. Many of the compositions resemble Renaissance paintings. Cameron struggled to represent abstract concepts such as goodness and temperance, as well as to distinguish each virtue from the others. She would not attempt another series until 1874, when she undertook the illustrations to Tennyson’s Idylls of the King. Cameron donated a set of all nine Fruits of the Spirit – mounted in a single frame – to the British Museum in January 1865. |
| Associated object | PH.363-1981 (version) |
| Bibliographic reference | Cox, Julian and Colin Ford, with contributions by Joanne Lukitsh and Philippa Wright. Julia Margaret Cameron: The Complete Photographs. London: Thames & Hudson, in association with The J. Paul Getty Museum, Los Angeles and The National Museum of Photography, Film & Television, Bradford, 2003. ISBN: 0-500-54265-1
Cat. no. 36, p. 140 |
| Collection | |
| Accession number | E.1219-2000 |
About this object record
Explore the Collections contains over a million catalogue records, and over half a million images. It is a working database that includes information compiled over the life of the museum. Some of our records may contain offensive and discriminatory language, or reflect outdated ideas, practice and analysis. We are committed to addressing these issues, and to review and update our records accordingly.
You can write to us to suggest improvements to the record.
Suggest feedback
You can write to us to suggest improvements to the record.
Suggest feedback
| Record created | June 11, 2003 |
| Record URL |
Download as: JSONIIIF Manifest
