Plant Study
Charles Nègre
French, 1820–1880
1860s ?
A mid-19th-century albumen silver print made from a wet-collodion glass negative in which Charles Nègre frames a tangle of garden plants to record their textures, light, and form as a focused study.
You first see a dense cluster of leaves and stems set against a sunlit wall, where crisp highlights, deep shadows, and fine botanical detail turn ordinary growth into a richly textured, almost relief-like composition.
As an example of wet-collodion photography and albumen printing, this work shows how technical advances gave photographers unprecedented sharpness and tonal subtlety, allowing artists like Nègre to treat everyday subjects as both scientific record and pictorial study.
Medium
Albumen silver print from a wet-collodion glass negative
Dimensions
8 3/8 × 6 1/2" (21.4 × 16.7 cm)
Classification
Department
Credit
Acquired through the generosity of Blanchette Hooker Rockefeller
Accession
90.1986
Palette
Art Terms
Exhibitions
