Nineteenth century photographs

It was said of Scottish photographer Robert MacPherson (1811-1872) that his arrival in Rome was heralded by bagpipes and a kilt. Perhaps.In any case, MacPherson did some of the best early work in Rome—well ahead of the local photographers like the Alinari brothers. Macpherson trained as a surgeon, but became a landscape painter after moving to Rome. He learned photography in 1851 and quickly became successful as a photographer of Roman architecture, antiquities, and scenic views. During his twenty year career, he made more than three hundred large-scale views of Rome and the surrounding countryside.

         
         No. 1 April 2006

The Arch of Septimus Severus was a popular subject for early photographers owing, I imagine, to its excellent state of preservation. Most of the many photos of Roman arches are what we would call "views," straight-on shots to be pasted in an album as a record of what was seen on your grand tour. But MacPherson gives us much more. He frames the subject with the columns on the right and just a portion of a baroque building on the left—no sense in spoiling the illusion of antiquity. And the length of the shadows casts the major features and even some of the surface detail into high relief; taken at midday the shadows on the side of the arch would be much less interesting.