Untitled, Study from Life
Photograph
ca. 1863-1864 (made)
ca. 1863-1864 (made)
Artist/Maker | |
Place of origin |
5 Princes Gardens, interior: first floor, front: right window: screen: floor-boards: Clementina, in fancy dress (Orientalist style), eyes closed, reclining on draped divan, left hand grasping epergne, right hand on cheek. Beside divan are cheval-glass (which reflects left side of her torso, window, and window-casement) and French-style side-table (on which are jug, plate, and easel-back mirror). Visible through window: balcony; houses south side of Princes Gardens (faintly) .
Object details
Categories | |
Object type | |
Title | Untitled, Study from Life (generic title) |
Materials and techniques | Albumen print from wet collodion on glass negative |
Brief description | Lady Hawarden, 'Untitled, Study from Life', photograph. |
Physical description | 5 Princes Gardens, interior: first floor, front: right window: screen: floor-boards: Clementina, in fancy dress (Orientalist style), eyes closed, reclining on draped divan, left hand grasping epergne, right hand on cheek. Beside divan are cheval-glass (which reflects left side of her torso, window, and window-casement) and French-style side-table (on which are jug, plate, and easel-back mirror). Visible through window: balcony; houses south side of Princes Gardens (faintly) . |
Dimensions |
|
Gallery label | Gallery 100, ‘History of photography’, 2011-2012, label text :
Clementina, Lady Hawarden (1822-65)
‘Study from Life’ or ‘Photographic Study’
About 1864
Lady Hawarden was the first female photographer
to gain critical recognition in Britain. She posed her
daughters in fancy dress in her South Kensington
home, relying on natural light flowing through windows
and reflected in mirrors. Unlike her contemporary
Julia Margaret Cameron, who focused on the faces
of her sitters, Hawarden used domestic interiors,
backdrops and fabrics to enhance her compositions.
Albumen print
Given by Lady Clementina Tottenham
Museum no. Ph.309-1947
(07 03 2014) |
Credit line | Given by Lady Clementina Tottenham |
Object history | Lady Clementina Hawarden took up photography about 1857 and became one of the most experimental and original photographers of the nineteenth century. She often used her children, husband and servants as models. The full-length looking-glass mirror which often appears in her pictures was known as a ‘psyche’ and is a visual pun on the Greek god ‘Psyche’, who represented the spiritual aspect of mankind. So the mirror and figures together in her pictures seem to represent the spiritual and material aspects of human life. |
Historical context | From departmental notes 'Clementina, Lady Hawarden (Untitled) Photographic Study (or) Study from Life (D.665) c.1863-c.1864 5 Princes Gardens, interior: first floor, front: right window: screen: floor-boards: Clementina, in fancy dress (Orientalist style), eyes closed, reclining on draped divan, left hand grasping epergne, right hand on cheek. Beside divan are cheval-glass (which reflects left side of her torso, window, and window-casement) and French-style side-table (on which are jug, plate, and easel-back mirror). Visible through window: balcony; houses south side of Princes Gardens (faintly) . Inscription (verso): No 123; Inscription (verso of mount): (X614-)123 244 x 283 mm PH 309-1947 Series 129 Literature: Microfilm: 3.18.144 Frauen in der Kunst (travelling exhibition), Ne I Gesellschaft fur bildende Kunst, Berlin, 1977; Private View: The Erotic Image in Photography, Royal Photographic Society, 1987-88. Like an odalisque in a harem, Clementina reclines on a divan draped with rich fabrics. Her body is nearly insubstantiated by light, and she seems to be rising, perhaps to the plane of dreams, as the outside world recedes. The cheval-glass--also called a 'psyche'--isolates her cheek resting on her hand in the Classic gesture of contemplation. She grasps an epergne--a fruit basket, symbol of sensuality--close to her breast. Perched on the table's edge, beside another, blank mirror, is a jug whose shape echoes the contours of the female body and whose situation recalls the traditional predicament of feminine virtue.' |
Subject depicted | |
Bibliographic reference | Female Trouble. Die Kamera als Spiegel und Bühne weiblicher Inszenierungen Munich: Pinakothek der Moderne, 2008. ISBN: 978-3-7757-2203-2.
Literature: Microfilm: 3.18.144 |
Collection | |
Accession number | 309-1947 |
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 | July 28, 2003 |
Record URL |
Download as: JSONIIIF Manifest