The Cleveland Museum of Art

Collection Online as of March 25, 2024

Articles of Glass

Articles of Glass

1844
(British, 1800–1877)
Image: 13.2 x 15.1 cm (5 3/16 x 5 15/16 in.); Paper: 18.6 x 23 cm (7 5/16 x 9 1/16 in.); Matted: 40.6 x 50.8 cm (16 x 20 in.)
Location: not on view

Description

Pursuing such diverse interests as language, mathematics, botany, and optics, William Henry Fox Talbot was a prominent scholar and scientist. In 1839 he invented the first system of positive and negative photography—the calotype process. The basis of all modern photography, the calotype's paper negative made possible the infinite reproduction of prints from a single negative. In Articles of Glass, three rows of sparkling glass objects are isolated against a dark background, illustrating the new medium's ability to capture the nuances of light and record reality. A remarkable technical and aesthetic achievement, the image testifies to Talbot's artistry and classical sensibilities, expressed through his use of symmetry and a central focus. This image was included in Talbot's The Pencil of Nature (1844), one of the first books illustrated with actual photographic prints.
  • Turner, Evan H. "The Year in Review for 1992." The Bulletin of the Cleveland Museum of Art 80, no. 2 (1993): 38-79. Reproduced: p. 47; Mentioned: p. 46, 69 www.jstor.org
    Cleveland Museum of Art, Tom E Hinson. Catalogue of Photography. Cleveland, OH: Cleveland Museum of Art, 1996. Mentioned and reproduced: P. 12-13, 354
  • Legacy of Light: Master Photographs from the Cleveland Museum of Art. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (November 24, 1996-February 2, 1997).
    Selected Acquisitions. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (February 9-April 11, 1993).
    CMA, January 28 - March 15, 1992: "Selected Acquisitions," CMA Bulletin, 80 (February 1993), p. 69, no. 130, repr. p. 47.
    CMA, November 20,1996 - February 2, 1997: "Legacy of Light: Master Photographs from the Cleveland Museum of Art," see Catalogue of Photography, pp. 12-13.
  • {{cite web|title=Articles of Glass|url=false|author=William Henry Fox Talbot|year=1844|access-date=25 March 2024|publisher=Cleveland Museum of Art}}

Source URL:

https://www.clevelandart.org/art/1992.121