Athens from the Acropolis

Artist Frank Mason Good (British, 1839 - 1928)

Date1860s

MediumAlbumen print

DimensionsOverall, Image: 6 1/16 × 8 1/8 in. (15.4 × 20.6 cm)
Overall: 12 1/16 × 14 15/16 in. (30.6 × 37.9 cm)

ClassificationsPhotography

Credit LineGift of Dr. and Mrs. Charles T. Isaacs

Object number2001.31.16

Terms

Cities
Hills
Athens
Sepia

On View

Not on view

DescriptionThis is an albumen print from a wet collodion negative on its original lithographed mount. This is a bird's eye view of Athens, from the Acropolis. Many buildings and trees populate the bottom half of the photograph; in the background there are a couple of hills.

Label TextFrank Mason Good British, 1839–1928 Athens from the Acropolis, 1860s Albumen print (photograph) Nineteenth-century tourists visiting Athens were often shocked to find the classical city and its monuments in disrepair. Many first saw the ancient city in photographs like this one—a picturesque view of Mount Lycabettus rising beyond a sweeping valley dotted with rustic homes. The photograph provides the order and balance that tourists expected of all things Greek, but many visitors discovered crumbling ruins and urban dangers instead. By the end of the century archeologists stepped up conservation efforts and the tourist industry blossomed, helping to deliver on what photographs promised. Gift of Dr. and Mrs. Charles T. Isaacs 2001.31.16