Hi Everyone
While walking around the Victoria and Albert Museum in London a few weeks ago I found this interesting collection of early architectural photographs.
I thought documenting these early shots would make for an interesting case study for us photography enthusiasts.
Medieval and Renaissance buildings were photographed regularly in the decades following the invention of photography in 1839.
The development of architecture as a profession created a demand for accurate images. Photographs were used increasingly to document restoration or to record buildings that were under threat.
There was also a demand for more artistic or picturesque images. The increase in travel meant that some photographs were produced in large numbers, either as mementos of a journey or for armchair tourists.
This first shot is of Whitby Abbey in Yorkshire ,it was taken sometime between 1852 and 1854 by a photographer called Benjamin Breknell Turner.
The Gothic architecture of the Abbey helped inspire Bram Stoker to write his novel Dracula in 1897.
The abbey housed Benedictine monks from the 1220s until 1538 when it was surrendered to Henry VIII.The building was then abandoned and fell into ruin. The remaining Gothic ruins are set high on a cliff-top overlooking Whitby town and harbour.
This photograph was taken by Roger Fenton in 1854.It shows Rievaulx Abbey in Yorkshire.
Like many early British photographers, Roger Fenton travelled to favourite tourist destinations. Rievaulx Abbey had been made famous in part by the Romantic poets and watercolour painters of the later 18th centaury.
Rievaulx Abbey is now on my places to visit and photograph list.The abbey is still standing today .It would be fun to visit it and try and recreate some of these shots.
This is a shot of Portico De La Gloria Santiago De Compostela in Spain taken by Charles Thurston Thompson in 1864 it shows a figure of St James which was carved between 1168 - 1188.
Schloss Elz Castle ,Germany photographed around 1860 by unknown photographer. This low vantage point shot shows the castle in its mountainside context. It looks as if the castle is growing out of its surroundings, its fairy-tale appearance is the result of many building campaigns from the 12th century onwards.
Church of St Gervais Paris in 1903 photographed by Eugene Atget. This shot was taken as part of Atget's project to record "Old Paris". He was driven by the disappearance of buildings as schemes swept the city. Saint Gervais was given a Baroque Façade in the 17th century but this view down a cobbled alleyway reveals the older ,Gothic core of the Medieval Church.
Porte Rouge , Notre Dame Cathedral, Paris photographed sometime around 1655 by an unknown photographer.
In this shot the door has been blacked out to focus the viewers attention on the surrounding sculpture. The tympanum directly above the portal shows the coronation of The Virgin flanked by kneeling figures who probably represent Louis IX and his wife Marguerite of Provonce. The doorway was constructed around 1270.
Notre Dame Cathedral, Paris photographed by Edouard Baldus in 1857.Edouard Baldus was among a group of photographers selected in 1851 by the French government's Historic Monuments commission to document the nations architectural achievements.
Sir Paul Pindar's House ,Bishopgate ,London photographed by William Strudwick in 1869. William Strudwick produced a number of photographs documenting old London. The decorated façade was once part of an extensive mansion built in 1600 for a wealthy merchant.
The house was demolished in 1890 and the museum acquired the façade which is now on display near these historic photographs.
The Façade from Sir Paul Pindar's house can be seen in these shots also taken by William Strudwick in 1869.
Cloisters of San Giovanni In Laterano , Rome photographed by Pietro Dovizielli in 1859.These photographs are part of a collection of 44 shots of buildings in Rome commissioned by Sir Henry Cole ,the first director of the South Kensington museum (now the Victoria & Albert ).His intention was to provide a visual resource for architect's working on the new Museum buildings.
This last collection of shots show Haddon Hall in Derbyshire photographed by Francis Firth in 1857.Haddon Hall is a 12th centaury fortified manor house. The images are from one of the earliest topographical mass production enterprise's: Firth's Universal Series , marketed from 1864.Although the series offered images of locations worldwide much of it showed popular British destinations.
In the 19th century few people would have the means to travel to these destinations.Photographical series like these would have been the main way to see such places.
I hope you guys enjoyed casting your minds back 150+ years to see some of the world through the eyes of pioneering photographers.