RSA Scottish Art
Edinburgh Ale (James Ballantine, Dr George Bell & D O Hill)
 | Artist: David Hill and Robert Adamson |
| Title: Edinburgh Ale (James Ballantine, Dr George Bell & D O Hill) | |
| Year: c. 1845 | |
| Medium: photograph (calotype) | |
| Dimensions: | |
| Suggested topic: figure composition | |
| Source: RSA | |
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| Description: The painter, David Octavius Hill, and the pioneer photographer, Robert Adamson, formed a partnership between 1843 and 1848.With the combination of Hill's artistic eye and Adamson's understanding of the new artform of photography, they produced hundreds of photographs, called calotypes. They are best remembered for images of Newhaven fishwives, but the partnership also produced portraits and architectural views.This calotype is a group portrait of three friends and is treated in a very informal manner. It is quite unlike the posed studio photographs produced by later commercial photographers. Instead the scene is arranged with accessories as if it were a drinking scene in a tavern. On the table we see a beer bottle and three 19th-century drinking glasses called “ale flutes.” The men are looking away from the camera at something happening off to the right. Most formal studio portraits of the time show the sitter either looking at the camera or gazing into the distance. This informal shot creates mystery because the viewer is unaware of what the men find so amusing. The informality of the portrait is further described by the man on the right who has moved and is seen as a blur. If this was an expensive studio photograph, this flaw would have led to the photograph being discarded. The strong diagonal downlight could be the effect of bright sunlight, or possibly a brightly lit studio.Nowadays we completely take for granted the fact that we can have photographs of ourselves and our families and friends. But less than ten years before this picture was taken, photography did not exist. These three friends are enjoying what we have all become accustomed to: the fun of being photographed with friends. | |