Alfred, Lord Tennyson 1865

Editor: Here we have Julia Margaret Cameron’s 1865 gelatin-silver print, "Alfred, Lord Tennyson," at the Met. There’s a dreamy, almost ethereal quality to this portrait. The light seems to caress his face, and the soft focus gives it such a romantic, perhaps idealized feel. What compositional elements strike you most forcefully in this piece? Curator: Observe the interplay of light and shadow. Cameron masterfully manipulates these elements to define the form of Tennyson’s face, drawing our eye to his profile. Note the deliberate blurring – a technique that, rather than detracting from the image, enhances its expressive power. How does this focus contribute to the overall reading? Editor: It definitely adds to the romanticism. The less-than-sharp focus makes him appear more like a figure from a dream than a crisp representation of a historical figure. Almost as though fact and fiction are purposefully blurred, perhaps. Do you consider her choices to be an active statement? Curator: Absolutely. Consider the surface texture as well. The tonal range within the silver gelatin print allows Cameron to render incredibly subtle gradations of light and dark, almost sculptural in their effect. Observe also the subject's gaze directed beyond the frame of the photograph. How might this enhance the meaning we draw? Editor: Interesting, the way you focus my attention toward her stylistic intent, technique and construction rather than how it may historically or socially reflect the subject. I guess, knowing that, I feel I understand the work in terms of its formal strategies as a photograph, more than I had previously, seeing the technique rather than just the ‘man.’ Thanks! Curator: Precisely. Considering the intrinsic visual qualities opens new avenues to meaning. Looking closely transforms our perceptions.