The Cleveland Museum of Art

Collection Online as of April 19, 2024

Western Gateway (Gopuram) of the Minakshi Sundareshvara Temple, Madurai

Western Gateway (Gopuram) of the Minakshi Sundareshvara Temple, Madurai

1858
(British, 1822–1902)
England, 19th century
albumenized salt print
Image: 38 x 30.2 cm (14 15/16 x 11 7/8 in.); Image with black margin: 39.5 x 31.2 cm (15 9/16 x 12 5/16 in.); Paper: 39.5 x 31.2 cm (15 9/16 x 12 5/16 in.)
Purchase from the J. H. Wade Fund 2020.208
Catalogue raisonné: Dewan: CR6-135
Location: not on view

Did You Know?

An important pilgrimage site for centuries, this temple continues to draw tens of thousands of worshippers per day.

Description

The tall gateways of this Hindu temple, characteristic of South Indian temple architecture, challenged the camera technology of 1858. Linnaeus Tripe, however, had a new type of device, a wooden box camera with a “rising front,” or bellows. This innovation allowed him to get relatively close to tall structures and capture them without radical vertical distortion.
  • 1981
    London Art Market
    1981-2020
    Private Collection, United Kingdom
    2020
    (Prahlad Bubbar Indian and Islamic Art, London, United Kingdom)
    September 14, 2020
    The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH
  • Dewan, Janet, and Linnaeus Tripe. The Photographs of Linnaeus Tripe: A Catalogue Raisonné. Toronto: Art Gallery of Ontario, 2003.
  • {{cite web|title=Western Gateway (Gopuram) of the Minakshi Sundareshvara Temple, Madurai|url=false|author=Captain Linnaeus Tripe|year=1858|access-date=19 April 2024|publisher=Cleveland Museum of Art}}

Source URL:

https://www.clevelandart.org/art/2020.208