[Rocky Hillside]
Born in France, Victor Prevost emigrated to America in 1848 and remains one of the country's most enigmatic early photographers using the paper negative process. Prevost had learned his technique directly from Gustave Le Gray, the leading French photographer of the day, and used it with great success to photograph the evolving shape of New York City beginning in 1853. His views of the ever-changing facades of businesses on Broadway, the city's most active commercial artery, show remarkable aesthetic and historical sensitivity. Prevost's unusual aesthetic sensibility can be seen in this landscape with a carefully hidden figure seated among the boulders in the picture's lower right corner. The photograph offers a rare example of an American photographic artist in this period seemingly working only to please himself.
Artwork Details
- Title: [Rocky Hillside]
- Artist: Victor Prevost (French, 1820–1881)
- Date: 1850s
- Medium: Salted paper print from paper negative
- Dimensions: Image: 12 5/16 × 9 13/16 in. (31.2 × 24.9 cm)
- Classification: Photographs
- Credit Line: Gift of John Goldsmith Phillips, 1940
- Object Number: 40.102.9
- Curatorial Department: Photographs
More Artwork
A slider containing 5 items.
Press the down key to skip to the last item.
Press the down key to skip to the last item.
Victor Prevost
1853
Victor Prevost
1855
Charles Nègre
1858–59
Henri-Jean-Louis Le Secq
1852
Edouard Baldus
1855
Research Resources
The Met provides unparalleled resources for research and welcomes an international community of students and scholars. The Met's Open Access API is where creators and researchers can connect to the The Met collection. Open Access data and public domain images are available for unrestricted commercial and noncommercial use without permission or fee.
To request images under copyright and other restrictions, please use this Image Request form.
Feedback
We continue to research and examine historical and cultural context for objects in The Met collection. If you have comments or questions about this object record, please complete and submit this form. The Museum looks forward to receiving your comments.