Lalpura from the Ferry

1879

From the collection of Cleveland Museum of Art

Impressionism Realism Late 19th Century Ireland

Dominant colour

Lalpura from the Ferry is a 1879 by John Burke, a Impressionism work, depicting Ireland, held at Cleveland Museum of Art.

Who painted this?: John Burke
When & what style?: 1879 · Impressionism
Where can I see it?: Cleveland Museum of Art

About this work

You see a quiet riverbank in India—trees, a ferry boat, and a few figures waiting in the shade. This isn’t just a pretty scene. It’s one of the first photos taken during the Second Anglo-Afghan War. The photographer, John Burke, couldn’t shoot battles, so he documented the places where history happened instead. The calm hides the conflict just out of frame. If you like this kind of early war photography, look up the subject: ireland. (Burke’s work often focused on British military campaigns, including in Ireland.)

The story of this work

Overview

The subject of this album is the Second Anglo-Afghan War, which was fought from 1878 to 1880. John Burke was the first photographer to photograph extensively in Afghanistan and the main photographer covering that conflict. The technology of the day did not permit action shots of battles. As is usual for early conflict photography, the pictures are landscapes of the sites of momentous incidents, views of camps and civil and military infrastructure, and portraits of the soldiers and their leaders.