While gelatin silver prints took Europe by storm in the late 1800's, becoming a favorite pastime for many, today they are not just a sentimental mementos of an era gone by. They provide a well of information about the author as well as the historical context that influenced his work. Their theme, technique, and style speak volumes, allowing a glimpse into the lives of the people in front of the camera as well as behind it. One of such intriguing images is the photograph titled St. George and the Dragon, taken in 1875, by a scientist, writer, and a photographer Lewis Carroll. Born Charles Lutwidge Dodgson, after his father January 27, 1832, to a strict Anglican family. As a child, Carroll created stories and games for his siblings and friends.
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He went to study mathematics with great success at Oxford, where eventually he became a lecturer on that subject. He picked up photography as a hobby in 1856 and continued until 1880. His style originally inspired by his family albums evolved eventually to the most adventurous, creative and magical works of art. And so, the photograph St. George and the Dragon depicts four children at play, dressed in period costumes, reflecting Dodgson's imagination, his love for costume photography, derived from his love of theater as well as his love for theatricals. Two of the children took on the roles of brave knights that came to the rescue of the princess attacked by the vicious leopard. A girl in a white gown and a crown on her head plays the role of the princess. Another boy, crawling on a floor and covered with a leopard skin assumed the role of the animal, that attacked the princess. One of the knights lies still on the ground as he just lost his battle with the beast. Another knight on a horse, holding a long sword in his hand pointed toward the leopard, arrived just in time to save the terrified …show more content…
His photpgraph St. George and the Dragon, is a portrait, taken in a Dodgson's studio, clearly visible in the image. Even though the figures depicted in it appear to be in motion, in reality, they are all still, despite their positions suggesting movement. Portraiture was very popular when it finally became available to the public between the years of 1839 and 1875, reflecting the curiosity and the drive to depict the human body in natural poses, as well as reflecting the latest innovations in photography at the time. The theme of the photograph depicting children at play, points to the commercial availability of photography, at the time Dodgson took it in 1875. From the days when Mr. Talbot explained his process, which he called later the Calotype, many improvements took place. When in 1837 Henry H. Talbot gave an account of his process to the Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society of London, he described it in detail pointing to the importance of the use of a weak solution of a common salt that the paper is dipped in, to distribute the solution uniformly. Later, a solution of nitrate of silver has to be distributed on the paper and dried. "This paper, if properly made, is very useful for all ordinary photogenic purposes. For example, nothing can be more perfect than the image it gives of leaves and flowers, especially with a summer sun. The light passing through the leaves
He went to study mathematics with great success at Oxford, where eventually he became a lecturer on that subject. He picked up photography as a hobby in 1856 and continued until 1880. His style originally inspired by his family albums evolved eventually to the most adventurous, creative and magical works of art. And so, the photograph St. George and the Dragon depicts four children at play, dressed in period costumes, reflecting Dodgson's imagination, his love for costume photography, derived from his love of theater as well as his love for theatricals. Two of the children took on the roles of brave knights that came to the rescue of the princess attacked by the vicious leopard. A girl in a white gown and a crown on her head plays the role of the princess. Another boy, crawling on a floor and covered with a leopard skin assumed the role of the animal, that attacked the princess. One of the knights lies still on the ground as he just lost his battle with the beast. Another knight on a horse, holding a long sword in his hand pointed toward the leopard, arrived just in time to save the terrified …show more content…
His photpgraph St. George and the Dragon, is a portrait, taken in a Dodgson's studio, clearly visible in the image. Even though the figures depicted in it appear to be in motion, in reality, they are all still, despite their positions suggesting movement. Portraiture was very popular when it finally became available to the public between the years of 1839 and 1875, reflecting the curiosity and the drive to depict the human body in natural poses, as well as reflecting the latest innovations in photography at the time. The theme of the photograph depicting children at play, points to the commercial availability of photography, at the time Dodgson took it in 1875. From the days when Mr. Talbot explained his process, which he called later the Calotype, many improvements took place. When in 1837 Henry H. Talbot gave an account of his process to the Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society of London, he described it in detail pointing to the importance of the use of a weak solution of a common salt that the paper is dipped in, to distribute the solution uniformly. Later, a solution of nitrate of silver has to be distributed on the paper and dried. "This paper, if properly made, is very useful for all ordinary photogenic purposes. For example, nothing can be more perfect than the image it gives of leaves and flowers, especially with a summer sun. The light passing through the leaves