Artwork Page for The Domes, from the Sentinel Domes, Yosemite

Details / Information for The Domes, from the Sentinel Domes, Yosemite

The Domes, from the Sentinel Domes, Yosemite

c. 1865–1866

Carleton E. Watkins

(American, 1829–1916)
Culture
America
Medium
mammoth albumen print from wet collodion negative
Measurements
Image: 39.6 x 52.4 cm (15 9/16 x 20 5/8 in.); Mounted: 53.2 x 68.1 cm (20 15/16 x 26 13/16 in.); Matted: 71.1 x 81.3 cm (28 x 32 in.)
Credit Line
John L. Severance Fund 2002.44
Public Domain
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Location
Not on view
Print

Description

Although prolific in all types of commercial photography, Carleton Watkins was best known for his majestic images of Yosemite Valley. He first transported his mammoth-plate camera there in 1861 and returned many times to record America's natural treasure. Besides establishing aesthetic and technical standards of excellence for landscape photography, Watkins's work was instrumental in passing the 1864 Congressional bill enacted to protect Yosemite from development. In this panoramic view, he displayed elegantly curved rock formations in the foreground. The photograph was structured in overlapping planes, which effectively depicted the seemingly limitless gradations and undulations in the landscape. His skillful suggestion of atmospheric perspective made the mountains and trees appear less clearly visible in the background, enhancing the sense of a vast, pristine landscape.
A horizontally oriented sepia mammoth albumen print depicts a mountain landscape. On the right, a monolithic granite dome with a sheer face rises above dense clusters of evergreen trees. These trees descend toward a deep, hazy valley. In the foreground, a rugged, rocky slope declines toward the left. Rounded domes and snow-capped peaks recede into the distance under a pale sky. A signature is inscribed in the lower right corner (see "Inscriptions").

The Domes, from the Sentinel Domes, Yosemite

c. 1865–1866

Carleton E. Watkins

(American, 1829–1916)
America

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