This exhibition looks like a good one, but I don't think I'm going to make it to Paris anytime soon.
Julia Margaret Cameron made the famous
portrait of Sir John Herschel, one of Britain's most distinguished 19th century scientists. He was a superb astronomer (following in the footsteps of his father William and aunt Caroline), chemist, mathematician and philosopher. But also a talented artist, linguist and musician.
To Cameron, Herschel was more than a renowned scientist; he was “as a Teacher and High Priest,†an “illustrious and revered as well as beloved friend†whom she had known for thirty years. Naturally, her image of him would not be a stiff, formal effigy. Instead, she had him wash and tousle his hair to catch the light, draped him in black, brought her camera close to his face, and photographed him emerging from the darkness like a vision of an Old Testament prophet.
