Inspiration | 19th Century Female Photographers

As I delve more into theorizing about the concepts and subjects I want to portray in my own art I decided to steer away from studying the prominant and well known photographers of the 20th century, most of them male. Yes, I was able to gain inspiration from the beautiful black and white forms of Edward Weston's nudes and Manuel Alvarez Bravo's uncanny portraits but those artists werent proving themselves to be enough for my world of alternative processes and photographing female protagonists.

So, I went back in time to the 19th century and realm of albumen prints made from wet-collodion negatives. There I found Lady Clementina Hawarden (1 June 1822-19 January 1865). She was well known in the 1860s as a portrait photographer and for her photographic prowess. Her subjects consisted almost entirely of her daughters and she aptly used her surrounding to create provocative compositions of her experience as a woman in Victorian society. Hawarden also relied on natural light from windows to light her subjects, often using mirrors to reflect such light and explore the concept of "the double." This makes Hawarden especially intriguing for me as I am also exploring mirrors and reflections.

Clementina Maude, photography by Lady Clementina Hawarden, about 1862-3.

Also important is Virginia Oldoini, Countess of Castiglione. She was not a photographer by her own right but worked closely with Pierre-Louis Pierson and directed every aspect of the work he did with her, in

cluding the arrangement of the composition. During their collaboration more than 700 portraits of the Countess were created, reflecting her aristocratic experiences and poignant moments.