Untitled
Paul-Marcellin Berthier
French, 1822–1912
1865
An albumen silver print that documents a volcanic crater from an elevated viewpoint, the photographer seeking to record its geological form and sweeping scale.
What strikes you is the broad, hollow rim of the crater cutting a deep, tactile shadow across the scene while a regiment of thin, upright tree trunks below measures its vastness and gives the landscape an eerie, sculptural rhythm.
Made in 1865, the photograph exemplifies how early photographic processes were used for both scientific survey and aesthetic exploration, bringing remote geological features into public view and shaping modern landscape photography.
Medium
Albumen silver print
Dimensions
11 1/2 × 15 3/8" (29.2 × 39 cm)
Classification
Department
Credit
Suzanne Winsberg Collection. Gift of Suzanne Winsberg
Accession
507.2009
Palette
Exhibitions
