[Vesuvius from Mergellina]

ca. 1855

Not on view

In this diffuse print trimmed to a narrow horizontal format, sea, sky, and land meet to create a minimalist study of light and tone. Caneva produced numerous marine views in the coastal towns of Anzio, Nettuno, and Ostia. In 1855 he traveled south, where he made photographs of Pompeii and this panorama of Vesuvius and the Bay of Naples. The same year, he published the first essay on photography in Italy: A Practical Treatise on Photography. He wrote of his preferred medium, “For every occasion, the paper negative offers an advantage, and for handling they can be conserved in a portfolio, they give no added weight to the assembly of the camera, and they do not puzzle in the laboratory.”

Artwork Details

Title: [Vesuvius from Mergellina]
Artist: Giacomo Caneva (Italian, 1812–1865)
Date: ca. 1855
Medium: Salted paper print from paper negative
Dimensions: Image: 13.1 x 27.9 cm (5 3/16 x 11 in.)
Mount: 26.7 x 43.5 cm (10 1/2 x 17 1/8 in.)
Classification: Photographs
Credit Line: Gilman Collection, Purchase, Mrs. Walter Annenberg and The Annenberg Foundation Gift, 2005
Object Number: 2005.100.570
Curatorial Department: Photographs

More Artwork

By Giacomo Caneva

In the same medium

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View from the French Academy at the Villa Medici, Giacomo Caneva Italian, Salted paper print from paper negative — View from the French Academy at the Villa Medici
Giacomo Caneva
ca. 1852

[Tree in Formal Garden Outside Palazzo], Giacomo Caneva Italian, Albumen silver print from glass negative — [Tree in Formal Garden Outside Palazzo]
Giacomo Caneva
1860s–70s

[Roman Ruins], Giacomo Caneva Italian, Albumen silver print — [Roman Ruins]
Giacomo Caneva
1860s

[Carlotta Cortudino], Giacomo Caneva Italian, Salted paper print from paper negative — [Carlotta Cortudino]
Giacomo Caneva
ca. 1852

[Stairs], Giacomo Caneva Italian, Salted paper print from paper negative — [Stairs]
Giacomo Caneva
1850s

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