The Acropolis of Athens, plate 20
1869/1870
Medium
carbon print
Dimensions
image: 23.8 x 18.7 cm (9 3/8 x 7 3/8 in.) mount: 53.1 x 36.8 cm (20 7/8 x 14 1/2 in.)
Classification
Photograph
Department
CPH
Museum
National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.
Credit
Robert B. Menschel Fund
Accession Number
2006.86.3
Art Historical Context
William James Stillman's *The Acropolis of Athens plate 20* (1869/1870) captures the timeless majesty of one of antiquity's greatest landmarks. As an American journalist, photographer, and philhellene, Stillman spent years in Greece during the 1860s, documenting the Acropolis with a reverent eye. This carbon print, part of a seminal series, offers a precise yet poetic view of the sacred citadel, highlighting its marble temples against the Athenian sky—likely featuring the Parthenon or Propylaea in meticulous detail. The carbon print medium, invented in the mid-19th century, was prized for its...
About the Artist
William James Stillman · 1828–1901
Stillman worked as a landscape painter in New York City from 1848 to 1858. In 1859, he produced a series of photographs on the Adirondack region. That same year, moved to Europe and from 1861 to 1865, he served as the American consul in Rome. During this period he produced a series of topographical and architectural photographs of Rome and Florence. From 1865 to 1868, Stillman served as the consul...