Island of Kulangsu
c. 1868
Medium
Collotype, pl. XII from the album "Illustrations of China and its People, Volume II" (1873)
Dimensions
Each image: 13 × 28.2 cm (5 1/8 × 11 1/8 in.); Album page: 47.1 × 34.8 cm (18 9/16 × 13 3/4 in.)
Classification
photography
Department
Photography and Media
Museum
Art Institute of Chicago
Accession Number
236486
Art Historical Context
Step into the vibrant world of 19th-century China through John Thomson's *Island of Kulangsu* (c. 1868), a captivating collotype print from his seminal album *Illustrations of and its People, Volume* (1873)., a pioneering Scottish photographer photojournalist, traveled extensively China from 1868 to 1872, capturing the nation's diverse landscapes, people, and customs during a transformative era following the Opium Wars.angsu—an international treaty port island off Xiamen (then Amoy)—served as a bustling hub for foreign traders, missionaries, and diplomats, blending Eastern and Western influenc...
About the Artist
John Thomson · 1837–1921
John Thomson (1837–1921), a pioneering Scottish photographer, was born on 14 June 1837 in Edinburgh as the eighth of nine children to William Thomson, a tobacco spinner and trader, and Isabella Newlands.) After schooling in the early 1850s, he apprenticed with a local optical and scientific instrument manufacturer, where he mastered the principles of photography, completing his training around 185...