Swatow
ca. 1869
Medium
Albumen silver print from glass negative
Dimensions
Image: 7 11/16 × 10 9/16 in. (19.5 × 26.9 cm)
Classification
Photographs
Department
Photographs
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
Gilman Collection, Purchase, Robert Rosenkranz Gift, 2005
Accession Number
2005.100.494.77
Tags
Art Historical Context
**Swatow**, captured around 1869 by the intrepid Scottish photographer John Thomson offers a vivid glimpse into the bustling port city of Swatow (now Shantou), China. Thomson, renowned for his pioneering expeditions across Asia, documented the region's architecture, daily life, and landscapes with an ethnographer's eye. This likely features the harbor's iconic buildings and boats, evoking vibrant trade hub that connected China to the world during the late Qing dynasty—a time of rapid modernization amid imperial decline. Printed as an albumen silver print from a glass negative, the work exempl...
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...