Fontana delle Tartarughe
1848–52
Medium
Albumen print from glass negative
Dimensions
Image: 11 5/16 × 8 11/16 in. (28.8 × 22 cm) Sheet: 18 1/2 × 12 1/8 in. (47 × 30.8 cm)
Classification
Photographs
Department
Photographs
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
Gilman Collection, Museum Purchase, 2005
Accession Number
2005.100.799 (13)
Tags
Art Historical Context
Nestled in Rome's charming Piazza Mattei, theFontana delle Tartarughe* (Turtle Fountain) is a gem captured in this stunning 1848–52 albumen by French photographer Eugène Constant. during the fountain's heyday in the 16th century by architect Giacomo della Porta with turtle sculptures by Taddeo Landini, it symbolizes renewal and the whimsical beauty of papal Rome. Constant, active in Italy during photography's infancy, expertly framed the fountain's graceful figures and cascading water, inviting viewers to savor its timeless elegance. This image exemplifies early photographic innovation: an al...
About the Artist
Eugène Constant · 1848–1855
Eugène Constant (before 1820 – after 1860) was a French painter who became one of the pioneering photographers of the 19th century, capturing the grandeur of Italy's ancient monuments with unprecedented clarity.) Trained as a painter in Paris during the early 1840s, where he maintained a studio at 31 rue du Marché-Saint-Honoré, Constant exhibited interior views of Venice's Basilica of San Marco an...