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La Santa Julia, (1867) is in the collection of the Art Gallery of Ontario located in Toronto, Ontario, Canada.

Description
La Santa Julia c. 1867 is an albumen print done by British photographer Julia Margaret Cameron. The portrait depicts Julia Jackson, she was Cameron's niece, godchild and one of her favourite models. This albumen print is part of Cameron's most successful series, which consists of seven variant poses. Uncharacteristic of the time, the model is represented as quite simply herself without the veils of biblical or allegorical references. Although the model is not depicted in the likeness of the Saint, the title refers to Saint Julia who was the slave martyred for her refusal to give up her faith in exchange for her freedom. The women depicted in her portraits represent spiritual beauty and evoke an aura of languor, melancholy, and yearning.

The women depicted in her portraits were often represented in the roles inspired by the Italian Renaissance and Greek mythology. These representations were seen as modes of behaviour and offered to the Victorian viewers ideals of femininity that women were expected to obey.

Historical information
British photographer Julia Margaret Cameron is recognized for her Arthurian and legendary inspired portraits during the span of her short-lived career she photographed numerous celebrities of her time. Cameron initiated her photographic career at the age of 48, she continued to photograph until her death at the age of 59. Her legacy resonates in today's photographic practices, her significant impact on the development of modern photography is present on the closely cropped portraits that we still see mimicked today.

Julia served as the perfect model for her portrait La Santa Julia, she was considered to be a great beauty in her time and pursued by several prominent suitors such as Pre-Raphaelite artist Holman Hunt. Her great beauty attracted the attention of leading artists such as George F. Watts and Edward Burne-Jones who used Julia as their model. In her life time, Julia was married twice her second marriage to Sir Leslie Stephens produced four children two of whom would become famous, writer Virginia Woolf and painter Vanessa Bell.