The Domes, from the Sentinel Domes, Yosemite
1866
From the collection of Cleveland Museum of Art
1866
From the collection of Cleveland Museum of Art
The Domes, from the Sentinel Domes, Yosemite is a 1866 by Carleton E. Watkins, a Impressionism work, held at Cleveland Museum of Art.
You see a wide, peaceful valley surrounded by tall granite cliffs under a soft sky. Trees fill the foreground, and light touches the rock faces, showing cracks and smooth surfaces. This photo helped protect Yosemite from being sold for private use. Congress saw images like this one and decided to save the land for everyone. The camera was huge and had to be carried on a mule. Watkins took many trips there to capture different views. Look next at the museum: The Cleveland Museum of Art.
Although prolific in all types of commercial photography, Carleton Watkins was best known for his majestic images of Yosemite Valley. He first transported his mammoth-plate camera there in 1861 and returned many times to record America's natural treasure. Besides establishing aesthetic and technical standards of excellence for landscape photography, Watkins's work was instrumental in passing the 1864 Congressional bill enacted to protect Yosemite from development. In this panoramic view, he displayed elegantly curved rock formations in the foreground. The photograph was structured in…
Read the full account in the museum source.
Carleton E. Watkins (1829–1916) was an American artist.
See the richer artist page
