Kirwuttee, A Temple, India
1857
From the collection of Cleveland Museum of Art
1857
From the collection of Cleveland Museum of Art
You see a quiet stone temple covered in tiny carved models of other temples. The walls look like a miniature city of shrines. This photo was taken in 1857, just two years after photography reached India. Pigou was a doctor, not a full-time artist—he took pictures for the British government to document old buildings. The temple’s carvings are unusual: most Indian temples have more figures, but this one is almost all little buildings. For more photos like this, look up William Henry Pigou (British, 1818–1858).
