Golden Gate
1857
Medium
albumen print
Dimensions
image: 31.2 × 27 cm (12 5/16 × 10 5/8 in.) mount: 45.5 × 52 cm (17 15/16 × 20 1/2 in.)
Classification
Photograph
Department
CPH
Museum
National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.
Credit
Gift of Michael and Jane Wilson
Accession Number
2012.137.21
Art Historical Context
Step into the luminous world of early photography with *Golden Gate* (1857), an albumen print by pioneering British photographer James Robertson. Capturing the majestic Yedikule—known as the Golden Gate—in Constantinople (modern-day Istanbul), this 31.2 × 27 cm image showcases Robertson's mastery in documenting the Ottoman Empire's architectural wonders. Mounted on a generous 45.5 × 52 cm sheet, it now graces the National Gallery of Art, thanks to the generous gift of Michael and Jane Wilson. Created amid the mid-19th-century photography boom, the albumen print process—coating paper with egg ...
About the Artist
James Robertson
James Downie Robertson, known professionally as James D. Robertson (1931–2010), was a distinguished Scottish painter whose vibrant depictions of the rugged West Coast landscapes profoundly shaped modern Scottish art. Born in Cowdenbeath, Fife, as one of twin boys, his family relocated to Glasgow at the outset of World War II, where he attended Hillhead High School. Robertson studied at the Glasgow...