Entrance to the Minakshi Sundareshvara Temple, Madurai
1858
From the collection of Cleveland Museum of Art
1858
From the collection of Cleveland Museum of Art
You see a black-and-white photograph of a temple gate in Madurai, India—tall, stacked arches leading inward, each one smaller than the last. Tripe took this picture in 1858, the same year Britain took direct control of India. The photo was part of a government-backed project to document Indian architecture, then sold in albums to British buyers. It’s not just a picture; it’s a record made for colonial eyes. To see more of Tripe’s careful work, look up Captain Linnaeus Tripe (British, 1822–1902).
