The Parting of Sir Lancelot and Queen Guinevere

1874

Medium

Albumen silver print

Dimensions

33.8 × 28.1 cm

Status

In Museum Collection

Collect24 Art ID

C24-821030

> Toward the end of August 1874 Alfred, Lord Tennyson suggested to Julia Margaret Cameron that she attempt a photographic illustration of his *Idylls of the King* (1872), a collection of poetry he had written over a period of nearly forty years. Her response was typically enthusiastic: “Now *you* know, Alfred, that *I* know that it is immortality to me to be bound up with you.” The enormous production costs and labor involved in such a venture were no deterrent—Tennyson was the finest poet in the land, and Cameron, by association, hoped for both financial gain and further validation of her status as an artist. She was determined to demonstrate that photography was the equal any other form of book illustration. > > Cameron began a search for models who would exactly personify the character in the *Idylls*. She employed her husband, nieces, friends, and visitors and went to great lengths in order to fit them to the most appropriate narrative. For *The Parting of Sir Lancelot and Queen Guinevere* she purportedly expended forty-two negatives before she achieved the desired result. Her principal difficulty was in finding the right model to perform the role of Sir Lancelot; she eventua…