Nam-Vian - Tombeaux
1866
Medium
Albumen silver prints from glass negatives
Dimensions
16.6 x 22.7 cm (6 9/16 x 8 15/16 in.)
Classification
Photographs
Department
Photographs
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
Gilman Collection, Purchase, The Horace W. Goldsmith Foundation Gift, through Joyce and Robert Menschel, 2005
Accession Number
2005.100.501 (46)
Tags
Art Historical Context
Émile Gsell's *Nam-Vian - Tombeaux* (1866) captures the intricate architecture of ancient tombs in what is likely a reference to Nam Viet, a historical region in southern Vietnam. This albumen silver print from a glass negative, measuring 16.6 x 22.7 cm, showcases Gsell's keen eye for monumental structures, highlighting their ornate carvings and imposing forms against lush surroundings. As part of the Photographs department at The Metropolitan Museum of Art, through the Gilman Collection in 2005, it viewers to ponder the solemn grandeur of Vietnamese funerary art. Created during the early yea...
About the Artist
Emile Gsell · 1838–1879
Emile Gsell (1838–1879) was a French photographer who became one of the earliest Western photographers to document Southeast Asia, particularly the ancient temples of Angkor in Cambodia. Born in Sainte-Marie-aux-Mines in Alsace, France, Gsell traveled to Indochina in the 1860s, establishing a photographic studio in Saigon (present-day Ho Chi Minh City) that became a base for his documentary expedi...