Albert and Victoria’s collection shows photographers’ working methods
Albert and Victoria’s collection shows photographers’ working methods
The royal couple was particularly keen to keep visual records of their favourite sculptures, paintings and other works of art, including portraits of family members by Franz Xaver Winterhalter (1805-73), Edwin Landseer (1803-61) and Carl Haag (1820-1915). Many of the glass plate negatives depicting such pieces feature details that provide insights into the early ways of documenting works of art by photography. A notable example is the surroundings of paintings which were usually cropped or masked out in the resulting photographs. These settings incorporate exterior walls of buildings or foliage, revealing that the paintings were regularly photographed outdoors where the lighting conditions were favourable.
As well as recording objects from the Royal Collection for domestic purposes, Prince Albert commissioned photography of artworks for educational reasons. Evidence of this can be found in the photographs of paintings, drawings and prints taken across Europe for the Raphael Collection . While the majority of such negatives are yet to come to light, a handful of examples shown below represent the significance of the project’s use of photography as a reproduction tool for wider scholarship.
After Franz Xaver Winterhalter (1805-73)
After Franz Xaver Winterhalter (1805-73)
After Franz Xaver Winterhalter (1805-73)
After Carl Haag (1820-1915)
After Edward Henry Corbould (1815-1905)
After Sir Edwin Landseer (1802-73)
After Sir William Ross (1794-1860)
Dr Ernst Becker (1826-88)
After Eduardo de Moira (1817-87)
Joseph Cundall (1819-95)
Joseph Cundall (1819-95)
After William Wyon (1795-1851)
Unknown Person
After John Callcott Horsley (1817-1903)
Joseph Cundall (1819-95)
After Roger Fenton (1819-69)
After Leonida Caldesi (1823-91)
After Joseph Cundall (1819-95)
After Leonida Caldesi (1823-91)
After Leonida Caldesi (1823-91)
After Sir Edwin Landseer (1802-73)
After Franz Xaver Winterhalter (1805-73)
After Franz Xaver Winterhalter (1805-73)
After Franz Xaver Winterhalter (1805-73)
After Franz Xaver Winterhalter (1805-73)
After Franz Xaver Winterhalter (1805-73)
After Unknown Person
After Franz Xaver Winterhalter (1805-73)
After Franz Xaver Winterhalter (1805-73)
After Frank Reynolds (d. 1895)
Hughes & Mullins (1883-1917)
After Sir William Ross (1794-1860)
After Franz Xaver Winterhalter (1805-73)
After Franz Xaver Winterhalter (1805-73)
After? Edward Henry Corbould (1815-1905)
After Edward Henry Corbould (1815-1905)
After Edward Henry Corbould (1815-1905)
After Edward Henry Corbould (1815-1905)
After Franz Xaver Winterhalter (1805-73)
After Franz Xaver Winterhalter (1805-73)
After Franz Xaver Winterhalter (1805-73)
After Baron Carlo Marochetti (1805-67)
After Franz Xaver Winterhalter (1805-73)
After Unknown Person
After Raphael (Urbino 1483-Rome 1520)
After a work by the school of Raphael (Urbino 1483-Rome 1520)
After Raphael (Urbino 1483-Rome 1520)
After Franz Xaver Winterhalter (1805-73)
After Franz Xaver Winterhalter (1805-73)
After Franz Xaver Winterhalter (1805-73)
After Sir Edwin Landseer (1802-73)
After Franz Xaver Winterhalter (1805-73)
After Sir Joseph Noël Paton (1821-1901)
After Sir George Hayter (1792-1871)
After Carl Haag (1820-1915)
After Franz Xaver Winterhalter (1805-73)
Robert Howlett (1831-58)
Robert Howlett (1831-58)
Robert Howlett (1831-58)
Robert Howlett (1831-58)
Robert Howlett (1831-58)
Robert Howlett (1831-58)
Unknown Person
After Emil Wolff (1802-79)
After Emil Wolff (1802-79)
After John Partridge (1790-1872)
After Prince Albert, Prince Consort (1819-61)
Unknown Person