Vendredi 03 Août 2012 15:13:22 par actuphoto dans Expositions

Beatrix Potter's father Rupert took up photography in the 1860s when it was still a relatively new art form. An enthusiastic and skilled amateur, he was elected to the Photographic Society of London in 1869 and later contributed to photographic exhibitions. Closely observed by Beatrix, Rupert often assisted his friend Sir John Everett Millais by photographing backgrounds for paintings and sitters for portraits. In her journal Beatrix recalls her father photographing the former prime minister W.E. Gladstone for Millais' portrait of 1885:'They kept off politics of course, and talked about photography … how far would the art be carried, did papa think people would ever be able to photograph in colours?' Rupert's favourite and most forbearing subject was Beatrix herself. Photography was an expensive and laborious process but she appears to have endured patiently the elaborate choreography and the camera's uncomfortably long exposure. Here, the photographic account of Beatrix's life from childhood to marriage is a legacy of Rupert's passion for both photography and his beloved daughter. He captures her at home in London and on holiday in the countryside; sombre and formal among family, relaxed and playful among her pet dogs and rabbit, Benjamin Bouncer. It was Beatrix's delight to accompany her father on photographic expeditions. Happy to be by his side and excited by the possibilities of the new art form, she also became an avid photographer. She inherited one of her father's old cameras,'a most inconveniently heavy article … which has been breaking my back since I took to that profession.' Through photography Rupert instructed Beatrix in the art of composition, and like Millais she too took photographs to record details that she would later use in her art.