Charles Norman
Medium
Albumen print
Dimensions
Image/paper: Diam.: 27.8 cm (11 in.); Mount: 44.3 × 35.4 cm (17 1/2 × 13 15/16 in.)
Classification
albumen silver print
Department
Photography and Media
Museum
Art Institute of Chicago
Accession Number
150103
Art Historical Context
Julia Margaret Cameron’s 1874 portrait “Charles Norman” captures the quiet dignity of its subject through the delicate tones of an albumen silver print. Cameron, a pioneering Victorian photographer, often favored this medium for its rich, luminous quality and fine detail, achieved by coating paper with egg-white emulsion. The circular format further emphasizes the sitter’s face, drawing viewers into an intimate encounter that feels both personal and timeless. Created during photography’s early years as an artistic medium, the work reflects the era’s growing interest in portraiture as a means ...
About the Artist
Julia Margaret Cameron · 1815–1879
Julia Margaret Cameron (1815–1879), born Julia Margaret Pattle in Calcutta, India, emerged as one of the 19th century's most innovative photographers despite beginning her career at age 48. The daughter of East India Company official James Pattle and French aristocrat Adeline de l'Etang, she was educated in France from 1818 to 1834 alongside her six surviving sisters, renowned for their beauty and...