Marie Spartali 1868

Editor: Here we have a dreamy portrait, "Marie Spartali" by Julia Margaret Cameron, dating back to 1868. It’s a photographic print. What strikes me immediately is how the soft focus lends a kind of ethereal quality to the sitter. What do you see in this work? Curator: For me, the imperfections *are* the art. I get the sense Cameron isn't after photorealism, it's about evoking emotion, and the light is dreamy. Think about what it means to "capture" someone. I suppose Cameron is capturing more of an ideal, a feeling of the sitter’s essence. Editor: That's interesting, this essence rather than pure likeness. Do you see a Pre-Raphaelite influence? Curator: Absolutely! The Pre-Raphaelites were all about romance, mythology, female beauty and their interest in the truth-to-nature depiction. And I love the model’s name itself is the title – as if the photographer had succeeded in ‘bottling’ her very spirit. Does the Pre-Raphaelite link enhance the image? Editor: It certainly deepens the feeling of romanticism, the dreamy rendering takes on even more meaning. I think it reframes how I see the work. It makes it something more than just a portrait. Curator: Precisely. It invites you to look past the surface, into the realm of art, imagination, beauty... and loss. It makes me wonder, what photographs *aren't* art? Editor: Well, it's been helpful for me to reconsider intention here, the "flaws" become purposeful rather than accidents. I'll definitely look at photography differently. Curator: Indeed. And perhaps look for the spirit within *all* portraiture from now on.