Henry Peach Robinson: Pioneer of Composite Photography

Henry Peach Robinson once said the lines "It was soon evident in my lodgings that I had become a dangerous lunatic, and there would be nothing left to destroy if strong measures were not taken. So I was turned out of the house, but it was only into the garden, where I was allowed to build a small darkroom of oilcloth. " This was his description of his great love and energy for photography (Getty). Not all people in the world can do the things they like.

Moreover, not all people in the world started on top. In Henry Peach Robinson’s case, he had to deal on his passion using the things he has on hand.

He started at the bottom being small but he has indeed finished great. Henry Peach Robinson’s composite photographs were the ones that molded the early or first years of photography (Encarta). He was born in Ludlow, Shropshire on the 9th of July 1830 and died at the age of 71 on the 21st of February 1901 (Invaluable).

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He is of British nationality considered as the person responsible for founding what is called the pictorialist school of photography. He first began his career as a painter before he came to develop an interest in photography.

He is infamous with his composite photographs which are pictures being made through the use of a process similar to painting (Cleveland Museum of Arts). He opened a portrait studio in 1857 which is where he developed his interest in the composite photographs of Oscar Rejlander (Invaluable).

There is a possibility that it was also Oscar Family Name 2 Rejlander who introduced him first to the technique of combination printing (Rleggat). “When the Day’s Work is Done”is considered to be one of his most famous works.

It is this photograph that he narrated and quoted the lines “One of the best models I ever employed was an old man of seventy-four. He was a crossing-sweeper. I should never have accomplished one of my best works if I had not seen him sitting at a table in my studio, waiting, till I could talk to him. I not only saw the old man there, but mentally, the old lady, and the interior of the cottage... The old man, by his attitude and expression, gave the germ of the idea; the old lady had to be found, and the cottage built, but they appeared to me then quite visibly and solidly.

” The copies of which have greater number than any other photographs of him. When the Day’s Work is Done is comprised of a combination print of six different negatives. He took this picture in the year 1877 (Getty). Aside from When the Day’s Work is Done, a lot of attention also went to a photograph he made that he called “Fading Away. ” He used a total of five negatives, props and makeup to produce the controversial output (Encarta). He took the photograph in the year 1858 that presented a dying girl being surrounded by her family.

This was one of his earliest and most controversial creation. Prince Albert is one of the persons who was captivated with his style of creating pictures which made him include this in his collections (Cleveland Museum of Art). Henry Peach Robinson created a number of photographs some which namely are She Never Told Her Love (1857), Foxgloves and Ferns (1882), Carrolling (1887), Horse and Groom (1863), Storm Cleaning Off (1894), A Merry Tale (1882), Dawn and Sunset (1885), Here They Are, and many others (Invaluable). Family Name 3

Included in the obstacles that Robinson had to face were controversies relating to his creations. Fading Away was one of his works that was ostracized because the subject is not suitable for photography. Another was the conflict between the art and science of photography. He also received protests when he told the public about the methods he used in creating pictures in an assembly of the Photographic Society of Scotland. He then created a conclusion to never tell his secrets in his works but instead leave the people to enjoy his craft (Rleggat).

In the book Pictorial Effect in Photography, he wrote that “Any dodge, trick and conjuration of any kind is open to the photographer's use.... It is his imperative duty to avoid the mean, the base and the ugly, and to aim to elevate his subject.... and to correct the unpicturesque.... A great deal can be done and very beautiful pictures made, by a mixture of the real and the artificial in a picture. ” He wanted to say that it is the duty of an artist to use ways and means that will further make their work beautiful thus, bringing their work to a next level output.

He also said that a person can enhance a lot more and better the things they see if they see it through an artist’s eyes; that people see lesser on things they see before them unless they are trained to apply it in a special way (Rleggat). Since Henry Peach Robinson exhibited a lot extensively, he has been able to receive awards and recognition for his work. Receiving a number of greater than 100 medals, awards and honors, he was also a position-holder in the Royal Photographic Society being their vice-president in 1887 and was awarded an Honorary Fellowship in 1900.

A part of his achievements are also publishing numerous articles and books numbering to 10. He had affiliations with Linked Ring, Photographic Exchange Club and the Amateur Photographic Association (Cleveland Museum of Arts). The books titled Pictorial Effect in Photography, Family Name 4 Being Hints on Composition and Chiaroscuro for Photographers were published first in 1868 (Getty). Henry also produced pictorial photographs of woodland and other scenes though he is known in combination printing (Rleggat). WHEN THE DAY’S WORK IS DONE DAWN AND SUNSET Family Name 5 Works Cited “Auction price results: henry peach robinson - 1830-1901.

” Invaluable. 4 May 2009. <http://www. invaluable. com/catalog/searchLots. cfm? scp=m&artistRef=84WVJ6ZEY 4&ord=2&a d=DESC&alF=1/> “Henry peach robinson. ” Artfact. 4 May 2009. <http://www. artfact. com/site/auction-lot/henry-peach-robinson-1830-1901- 84wvj6zey4-0-m-wp49yofj0h/> “Henry peach robinson. ” Cleveland Museum of Art. 4 May 2009. <http://cma- oh. org/Explore/artist. asp? searchText=henry+peach+robinson&tab= 1&recNo=0&bio=full&displa y=/> “Henry Peach Robinson. ” Getty. 4 May 2009. <http://www. getty. edu/art/gettyguide/artMakerDetails? maker=1972/> “Henry peach robinson. ” Holla. 4 May 2009.

<http://holla. co. kr/gallery_board/? p=view&tb=photo&keyword=&page=1&keyfield=&id=187/> “Henry peach robinson. ” Invaluable. 4 May 2009. <http://www. invaluable. com/artist/robinson-henry-peach-84wvj6zey4/> "Henry peach robinson. " Microsoft® Encarta® Online Encyclopedia 2009. 4 May 2009. <http://encarta. msn. com/encyclopedia_761579417/Robinson_Henry_Peach. html/> “Henry peach robinson. ” Rleggat. 4 May 2009. <http://www. rleggat. com/photohistory/history/robinson. htm/> “When the day’s work is done. ” Getty. 4 May 2009. <http://www. getty. edu/art/gettyguide/artObjectDetails? artobj=39351/>