Artwork Page for Behind the Troglodyte Farm

Details / Information for Behind the Troglodyte Farm

Behind the Troglodyte Farm

c. 1853

Henri Le Secq

(French, 1818–1882)
Culture
France, 19th century
Medium
salted paper print from waxed paper negative
Measurements
Image: 50.9 x 31.1 cm (20 1/16 x 12 1/4 in.); Matted: 76.2 x 61 cm (30 x 24 in.)
Credit Line
Norman O. Stone and Ella A. Stone Memorial Fund 2004.32
Public Domain
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Location
230 Photography
Print
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Did You Know?

Trained as a painter, Henri Le Secq was drawn to the new invention of photography in the late 1840s, less than a decade after its invention.

Description

This large-scale print, exceptional for the period, belongs to a small group of photographs by Le Secq of troglodyte, or cave, dwellings in western France near the Loire River. Around the 1400s, the term troglodyte referred to groups of political activists who lived underground in order to avoid property taxes, which only applied to above-ground dwellings.
A vertically oriented salted paper print in muted brown tones depicts a narrow stone passage centered around a cavernous arched opening. Above the arch, a weathered masonry wall contains a single vertical window. To our left and right, rough stone walls frame the scene, while wooden poles lean against the base. Debris litters the dirt path, guiding the eye toward the dark interior and the dense vegetation crowning the rocky heights.

Behind the Troglodyte Farm

c. 1853

Henri Le Secq

(French, 1818–1882)
France, 19th century

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