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The Miners’ Bridge, on the Llugwy, North Wales
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Roger Fenton was a versatile and prolific artist who abruptly ended his brief, 12-year career as a professional photographer to return to the practice of law. Nevertheless, his architectural and landscape photographs have brought him recognition as the greatest British photographer of the 1850s. In this picturesque scene, Fenton focused on a single figure ascending a precarious wooden bridge that hangs suspended between two craggy surfaces. He often included people in his photographs to indicate scale and to enliven the composition. Fenton's wet collodion negative rendered the texture of the riverbed in minute detail, transforming the dark tones of the rocks and the random pattern of the light-colored lichens into a lively, abstract design. The slow speed of the negative, relative to the swift movement of the stream, turned the rushing water into a dense, white cloud.
| Artist / Maker | Roger Fenton |
|---|---|
| Date | 1857 |
| Culture / Origin | England, 19th century |
| Medium | albumen print from wet collodion negative |
| Dimensions | Image: 36.7 x 42.9 cm (14 7/16 x 16 7/8 in.); Matted: 55.9 x 71.1 cm (22 x 28 in.) |
| Department | Photography |
| Type | Photograph |
About the Artist
Roger Fenton British, 1819-1869 Despite the relative brevity of his career, Roger Fenton stands among the most important and accomplished British photographers. Born in Heywood, Lancashire, to a wealthy family, Fenton graduated from University College in London and in 1844 may have studied painting in the Paris studio of Paul Delaroche, along with several other important future photographers. After returning to England, he spent four years earning a degree as a solicitor, continued to paint, and developed an interest in… Full biography →
Provenance & Source
Image & data: Cleveland Museum of Art, CC0 / Public Domain.
Condition
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