Bridge of St. Martin - Toledo
Medium
photogravure
Dimensions
image: 13.2 x 18.2 cm (5 3/16 x 7 3/16 in.) sheet: 20.3 x 28.1 cm (8 x 11 1/16 in.) mount: 21.1 x 30.1 cm (8 5/16 x 11 7/8 in.)
Classification
Photograph
Department
CPH
Museum
National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.
Credit
Gay Block Fund and Robert B. Menschel and the Vital Projects Fund
Accession Number
2010.83.5
Art Historical Context
James Craig Annan’s *Bridge of St. Martin - Toledo* (1914) captures the majestic 14th-century Puente de San Martín spanning the Tagus River in historic Toledo, Spain. This photogravure showcases Annan’s mastery as a Scottish photographer and pioneering printmaker, who traveled extensively in Europe to document architectural wonders. Created on the eve of World War I, the image reflects a moment of pre-war tranquility, evoking the enduring romance of medieval Spain amid its layered Islamic, Jewish, and Christian heritage. Photogravure, Annan’s signature medium, is an intaglio printing process ...
About the Artist
James Craig Annan
James Craig Annan (1864–1946) was a Scottish photographer widely regarded as one of the leading figures in the Pictorialist movement that sought to establish photography as a legitimate fine art at the turn of the twentieth century. The son of the distinguished Glasgow photographer Thomas Annan, James Craig grew up immersed in the craft and business of photography, inheriting both his father's tec...