Untitled (recto)
1884
From the collection of Cleveland Museum of Art
1884
From the collection of Cleveland Museum of Art
Untitled (recto) is a 1884 by Skeen & Co., a Impressionism work, held at Cleveland Museum of Art.
This photo shows people in traditional clothing from 19th century England. The people in the photo likely didn't see the finished picture. It was made for a European audience. These kinds of photos were collected for information or as souvenirs. They helped people imagine faraway places. You can learn more about this type of image by looking at the work of artist: Skeen & Co. (British, active 1860–1920)
Probably taken by one of two British photographic firms based in Ceylon (present-day Sri Lanka), this image was likely shot by a European and was definitely made for a European audience, not for the individuals depicted. It is unlikely the sitters ever saw the finished photograph. Such ethnographic portraits were collected by governments as information, by tourists as souvenirs, and by “armchair travelers” as aids to the imagination. Viewers of the era would have regarded it more as a depiction of a cultural type than as a record of individual lives. Because interiors of temples were too dark…
Read the full account in the museum source.
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