Julia Margaret Cameron : l’ambivalence victorienne

Abstract

Well-known for her strong-headed character, the photographer Julia Margaret Cameron (1815-1879) is often considered as a forerunner of feminism. Yet, as we shall argue, when analysing her portraits of men and women, a Victorian reading of her work prevails. This Victorian vision of the female figure passed on to her great-niece, Virginia Woolf, through the portraits Cameron took of her mother, her favourite model.

Keywords

• Julia Margaret Cameron
• Victorian woman
• portrait
• ambivalence
• Pictorialism