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 Artists research: Sir John F W Hershal


Sir John Herschel was born in 1792 and died in 1871 and made several contributions to the science of photography. Herschel made improvements to photography and invented the photographic process known as Cyanotypes, later known as Blueprints. 

I have chosen two of his cyanotype images to talk about, the first image features a woman sitting down, resting her head on her hand. the looking at this piece I instantly noticed the contrast between the darer blue and white areas, and I think that this combined with the inverted colours allow the light within the image to be showcased in a completely new way and I believe that with this flipped perspective the viewer is able to have a fresh look at the image, noticing details that they might have overlooked before. I think that the subject seems contemplative and relaxed, and the subjects eyes seem to be gazing directly at the viewer, as if she knows the viewer and has connected with them. I think that the inverted colours invoke an eerie atmosphere throughout the cyanotype like an old spirit that has come to visit the viewer, the blue and white areas add an unnatural and odd feeling to the image and when looking at the piece I am reminded of X ray images and I think that 

In the second image the inverted tones can be seen again, in this image the contrast between the subjects hair, dress and skin is far more clear than in the first cyanotype and I believe that this causes the image to be striking and haunting, I believe that because of this the details on the subjects dress and sleeves are able to stand out a lot more, what may have been over looked in the original image as another detail swallowed and overshadowed by a multitude of colours is now able to draw the viewers eye and attention and appear noticeable against the white background. I think that the inverted tones add a feeling of mystery to the image as the viewer attempts to figure out what colours could have been in the original image, and I believe that the contrasting tones of the blue and white allow the subject to appear bold and strong, the subject is commanding the viewers attention and is demanding to be seen. 






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