Pictorialism

‘Sleep’ by Henry Peach Robinson, 1867

‘Sleep’ shows 2 young children sleeping next to each other by a window overlooking the sea. The colouring of the image is sepia, with the main source of lighting focussing on the children, making them the focal point of the image. Their expressions are blank, and their postures are relaxed and comfortable, as you would expect when looking at someone in a state of sleep.

The photograph is typical of Pictorialism as it has a soft tone and colouring, and looks like it could have been a painting. With the exception of the strong light on the bed, the rest of the photograph is fairly dark in colouring, and shows a lot of shadow, this too is commonly found in Pictorialism photography. Also, the curtain beside the bed resembles one you would see in the theatre, supporting the idea his photographs are trying to show a story.

This photograph is very similar to previous work by Henry Peach Robinson, for example the photograph ’Fading Away’. Like in the photograph ‘Fading Away’, ‘Sleep’ seems to have been a number of photographs originally that have been combined to create the final image. We can tell this because of the different lighting throughout the photograph (the strong bright light on the bed and the dark shadows around it). H P Robinson is known for photographing private moments which have not before been photographed which at the time would have been seen as inappropriate. You would not have expected, at the time it was photographed, to see a photograph like this, nor would you expect a male photographer to be present in such a private moment, which is perhaps why his images are so strong and controversial.