[Farmyard Scene]
1850–54
Medium
Albumen silver print from paper negative
Dimensions
27 x 29.9 cm (10 5/8 x 11 3/4 in.)
Classification
Photographs
Department
Photographs
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
Purchase, The Horace W. Goldsmith Foundation Gift through Joyce and Robert Menschel, Samuel J. Wagstaff Jr. Bequest, and Pfeiffer Fund, 1993
Accession Number
1993.70
Tags
Art Historical Context
This evocative farmyard scene, captured by the little-known photographer V. Dijon between 1850 and 1854, offers a rare glimpse into mid-nineteenth-century rural life. The image depicts humble houses alongside everyday tools, presenting an unvarnished view of agricultural existence during a period of rapid industrialization. As one of the earliest photographic processes to allow for multiple prints, the albumen silver print from a paper negative enabled artists like Dijon to document ordinary subjects with remarkable clarity and tonal depth. The medium itself marks an important milestone in ph...