Artwork Page for Marsh Weeds

Details / Information for Marsh Weeds

Series Title: Marsh Leaves

Marsh Weeds

before 1891, published 1895

Peter Henry Emerson

(British, 1856–1936)
Culture
England
Medium
photogravure
Measurements
Image: 10.2 x 14.3 cm (4 x 5 5/8 in.); Paper: 17.5 x 26.7 cm (6 7/8 x 10 1/2 in.)
Credit Line
Mr. and Mrs. Roger J. Lerch in Memory of Carl J. Lerch and Winifred J. Lerch Endowment 2025.16
Public Domain
You can copy, modify, and distribute this work, all without asking permission. Learn more about CMA's Open Access Initiative.
Location
Not on view
Print
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Did You Know?

Around the time Emerson made this image, one of his most artistic, he wrote that he no longer believed photography to be an art form.

Description

Emerson’s early photographs emphasized naturalism, but his late works such as this one demonstrate influences from Japanese art, French Impressionism, and the painting and graphic art of Whistler, who was a personal acquaintance. This looser, more expressionistic, and emotional late style helped lay the groundwork for Pictorialist photography (for example, see 1980.141), the movement that succeeded in getting photography more widely accepted as a fine art.
A horizontally oriented photogravure depicts a serene winter landscape. Dark, feathery weeds protrude from deep white snow in the foreground, their textured forms leaning left. Beyond, a vast, pale field stretches to a low wooden fence and a cluster of spindly trees and small buildings silhouetted against a hazy sky. The monochromatic composition features soft gray tones and high contrast, emphasizing the delicate, dark lines of the vegetation against the snowy expanse.

Marsh Weeds

before 1891, published 1895

Peter Henry Emerson

(British, 1856–1936)
England

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