Tropical Scenery, Tropical Forest
1871
Medium
Albumen silver print from glass negative
Dimensions
Image: 27.6 x 20 cm (10 7/8 x 7 7/8 in.) Mount: 38.1 x 30.5 cm (15 x 12 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
2005.100.930
Tags
Art Historical Context
John Moran's *Tropical Scenery, Forest* (1871) captures the lush, untamed beauty of a tropical in an exquisite albumen silver print from glass negative. Measuring 27.6 x 20 cm on its mount, this photograph exemplifies the 19th-century photographer's skill in rendering dense foliage and atmospheric depth, inviting viewers into a verdant paradise far from industrialized Europe and America. Created during the wet-collodion era, the albumen process—coating paper with egg whites and silver salts—produced rich tonal gradations and fine detail, making it ideal for landscape views. Moran, an Irish-Am...
About the Artist
John Moran · 1821–1903
John Moran (1821–1903) was a British-born American landscape painter and photographer who became a significant figure in the artistic life of Philadelphia during the second half of the nineteenth century. Born in Bolton, Lancashire, England, he emigrated to the United States as a young man and settled in Philadelphia, where he became closely associated with one of the most remarkable artistic fami...