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Beatrice

Julia Margaret Cameron British, born India
1866
Not on view
In this photograph, modeled closely on a painting then attributed to the Italian Baroque artist Guido Reni, May Prinsep plays the role of Beatrice Cenci, a sixteenth-century Roman woman whose sad tale of rape, revenge, and execution was retold in a nineteenth-century play by Percy Bysshe Shelley. While Cameron’s portraits of “men great thro’ genius” had the built-in appeal of celebrity, her portraits of “women great thro’ love” most often depended upon literary, artistic, historical, or biblical allusion for broader commercial appeal.

Artwork Details

Object Information
  • Title: Beatrice
  • Artist: Julia Margaret Cameron (British (born India), Calcutta 1815–1879 Kalutara, Ceylon)
  • Date: 1866
  • Medium: Albumen silver print from glass negative
  • Dimensions: 36.8 x 29.0 cm (14 1/2 x 11 7/16 in. )
  • Classification: Photographs
  • Credit Line: The Elisha Whittelsey Collection, The Elisha Whittelsey Fund, 1969
  • Object Number: 69.607.9
  • Curatorial Department: Photographs

More Artwork

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Alfred, Lord Tennyson, Julia Margaret Cameron British, born India, Albumen silver print from glass negative
Alfred, Lord Tennyson
Julia Margaret Cameron
ca. 1865
Queen Guinevere, Julia Margaret Cameron British, born India, Albumen silver print from glass negative
Queen Guinevere
Julia Margaret Cameron
1874
The Passing of King Arthur, Julia Margaret Cameron British, born India, Albumen silver print from glass negative
The Passing of King Arthur
Julia Margaret Cameron
1874
King Arthur, Julia Margaret Cameron British, born India, Albumen silver print from glass negative
King Arthur
Julia Margaret Cameron
September 1874
Gareth and Lynette, Julia Margaret Cameron British, born India, Albumen silver print from glass negative
Gareth and Lynette
Julia Margaret Cameron
1874

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