New photography by Shannon Ruff captured with a digital camera-2007.

The Parthenon

Artist Jean Baptiste Eugène Piot (French, 1812 - 1890)

CultureFrench

Date1852

MediumSalted paper print

DimensionsOverall, Image: 8 7/8 × 12 7/8 in. (22.5 × 32.7 cm)
Overall, Support: 14 3/8 × 20 3/8 in. (36.5 × 51.8 cm)
Overall, Mat: 20 1/16 × 24 in. (51 × 61 cm)

InscribedThe following is printed on the mount, centered above the print is: L'ACROPOLE D'ATHENES; centered below the print is: LE PARTHÉNON; directly underneath the photogrpah on the left and right sides is: EUG. PIOT FECIT ET EXCUDIT, 1852. Lower left is: Paris L'AUTEUR Rue St. Fiacre, 20.

Credit LineMuseum purchase in memory of Alice R. and Sol B. Frank

Object number97.47.1

Not on view

DescriptionThis photograph provides an early view of the Acropolis. The Parthenon is in the center with broken columns and pieces of marble scattered across the front landscape.

Label TextEugène Piot French (1812-1891) The Parthenon, 1852 Salted paper print Museum purchase, in memory of Alice R. and Sol B. Frank 97.47.1 Piot was one of the earliest to conceive of and execute the concept of using photography to document monuments and works of art. Piot planned to photograph sites in Italy and Greece and then to sell those plates in installments to students and scholars of antiquity. Although he planned to publish his work in 25 installments, only the first is known to have been issued. Piot was granted 20,000 francs from the French Ministry of the Interior to help fund the projects, but he never took any of the money because he believed that he had not effectively produced the documentation. Piot made some of the earliest salted paper print photographs at the Acropolis. The prints possessed a graphic quality resembling lithographs. Unfortunately for Piot, this quality was not popular with the consumers of the 1850s. Following his artistic vision and sensibilities, Piot's work exhibits a unique beauty not present in the work of other photographers of the time. Edited By: CW Edited Date: 2007 Approved By: ERL Approval Date: 2007Exhibition History"History of Photography," Alice R. and Sol B. Frank Photography Galleries, Chrysler Museum of Art, Norfolk, Va, Fall, 2001. "The World of Photography," Alice R. and Sol B. Frank Photo Galleries, Chrysler Museum of Art, Norfolk, VA, June 20, 2007 - May 25, 2008