Historic Portrait
Portrait of Sir John Frederick William Herschel, Victorian mathematician, scientist and astronomer, by Julia Margaret Cameron. Albumen print, 1867. 340 x 264mm. NPG. (See bibliography for link)
Having spent most of my working life in the field of thermal imaging, I feel a connection with Herschel because of his discovery of infrared radiation (and also his work on photography).
The portrait clearly shows the face of an old man. Herschel was 75 when the photograph was made. The absence of colour is immediately evident and the tones are creamy, signifying to the modern eye that the photograph itself is also old. This warns us that the portrait should be considered with Victorian eyes, not just those of the 21st Century. We should therefore note the belief of Victorian artists, including Cameron, (Codell 2012) that portraits could “reveal the sitter’s character through a union of the external and internal”: great men, looking great.
The second major characteristic of the photograph is its lack of sharpness. The only sharp areas are around the mouth and forehead. This shows us clearly that Herschel has not shaved. Perhaps he is too busy, too absent minded, too preoccupied. The mass of tousled hair, creamy white against the dark background, also signifies a lack of care, or time, for personal appearance. This reinforces our impression of the “mad professor” (but that is a 20th century concept, not a 19th century one).
Herschel appears deep in thought, staring ahead. Despite the lack of sharpness, the intensity of the stare is striking and this suggests a feeling of searching for something, for that is what astronomers do. There is no engagement with photographer or camera. Herschel does not confront us: he looks into the distance, eyes bulging. Perhaps he is searching for the solution to some physical or astronomical problem. Perhaps he is wondering whether he can find it in the time he has left to him.
We could speculate about Cameron’s technique. To some extent it is dictated by the materials and equipment of the time. The long lens, with shallow depth of field, apparent close proximity of the camera, the long exposure times, all promote lack of sharpness. However, sharpness could be achieved: see some of the contemporary cartes de visites.
The artistic conventions of the time suggest that this portrait was made for the purpose of characterisation, rather than depiction, but the latter is suggested by the pose. Being caught off-guard was deemed to be inauthentic (Codell ibid), yet the lack of sharpness seems to add a feeling of spontaneity that would otherwise be missing: it makes Herschel come alive. For me, this adds to the sense of mystery felt on seeing the face of a long dead hero.
There is a view (Codell ibid) that “portraits construct or produce the sitter through cultural allusions widely disseminated for public consumption”. Are there “cultural allusions” at work here? I see a man who appears to come from an earlier time, perhaps 18th, rather than 19th century, because of the clothes. I think also of various portraits of Albert Einstein, wild-eyed and with flowing white hair. Although separated by almost a century, I feel the portraits are complementary. The two men share something.
The lack of sharpness in Cameron’s portrait made me think also of Gerhard Richter’s work, “48 Portraits”, which includes Einstein. Richter’s processes created a lack of detail that resulted in a homogenisation of the features of the subjects. In Richter’s work “the personalities become anonymous” (Richter undated). It it interesting to consider that Cameron’s blurred portrait was intended to emphasise character and that Richter used blurring to destroy it. Both appear to be successful.
References
(Codell 2012). Codell, J.. Victorian Portraits: Re-Tailoring Identities. Nineteenth Century Contexts. 34. 10.1080/08905495.2012.738089. Available at: https://www.researchgate.net/publication/263557321_Victorian_Portraits_Re-Tailoring_Identities . Accessed: 21/02/2019.
(Richter undated). Richter, G. (Artist’s website). 48 Portraits – Albert Einstein. Available at: https://www.gerhard-richter.com/en/art/paintings/photo-paintings/portraits-people-20/48-portraits-albert-einstein-13376 . Accessed: 21/02/2019.
Bibliography
(CoolCosmos / NASA undated). Herschel Infrared Experiment IPAC/CAltech. Available at: http://coolcosmos.ipac.caltech.edu/cosmic_classroom/classroom_activities/herschel_experiment2.html . Accessed: 21/02/2019.
Mick Gidley (2013) E. O. Hoppé’s Ambiguous Photographic Autobiographies,
Photography and Culture, 6:3, 279-302, DOI: 10.2752/175145213X13735390913205
Available at: https://doi.org/10.2752/175145213X13735390913205 . Accessed: 21/02/2019.
(National Portrait Gallery undated). Available at: https://www.npg.org.uk/collections/search/portrait/mw07487/Sir-John-Frederick-William-Herschel-1st-Bt?LinkID=mp02165&role=sit&rNo=4 . Accessed: 21/02/2019.
(Science and Media Museum 2013). How to Spot a Victorian Carte de Visite. Available at: https://blog.scienceandmediamuseum.org.uk/find-out-when-a-photo-was-taken-identify-a-carte-de-visite/ . Accessed: 25/02/2019.
KEVIN V JAMES Photography 3 