Victorian Visual Culture

Book excerpt: This volume provides an introduction to the diverse field of visual culture in the 19th century. It surveys major changes in the field taking into account photography, theatrical practice, changing land- and cityscapes as well as new technologies for entertainment and information. The inventions and discoveries of the period revolutionized methods of cultural production, provoked new intentions in representation and radically altered the experience of the visual in art as well as everyday life. Hence people had to adapt to new perceptions and their habitual ways of seeing were challenged. At the same time they carved out new positions for themselves vis a vis the visual, defining new identities as spectators and observers. In addition to the introductory overview, the volume offers a collection of articles which concentrate on less well-known aspects of Victorian visual culture, seeking to contribute an explanation in the context of the larger political, thus seeking to disclose new vantage points for explanations in the of the larger political, ideological and psychological context of the era.