Shops and Street, Chinese City of Pekin, October 1860

Art Historical Context

Step into the bustling streets of 1860s Peking with Felice Beato's *Shops and Street, Chinese of Pekin, October 1860*. Captured mere weeks after British and French forces seized the city during the Second Opium, this albumen print a vivid snapshot of everyday amid geopolitical turmoil. Be, a pioneering war photographer renowned for documentation of conflicts from the Crimean War to Indian Rebellion, arrived in Peking to record the aftermath, blending stark realism with an eye for cultural detail. The 25 × 27.7 cm image, mounted on a slightly larger 25.3 × 29.8 cm support, showcases Beato's mastery of the albumen process—a 19th-century technique using egg whites to bind light-sensitive silver salts, yielding rich tonal depth and fine detail. This medium was ideal for preserving intricate street scenes: vendors' stalls, architectural facades, and throngs of people navigating the chaos of occupation. Such photographs were rare, providing Western audiences their first intimate glimpses into imperial China's urban vitality. Housed in the National Gallery of Art's photography collection (gift of Michael and Jane Wilson), this work underscores photography's role as a historical witness. It humanizes a moment of imperial clash, highlighting resilience in Peking's commercial heart and Beato's legacy in bridging East and West through the lens.

About the Artist

Felice Beato · 1832–1909

Felice Beato (c. 1832–1909), an Italian-born photographer who became a British subject through his family's residence on the British protectorate island of Corfu, emerged as one of the pioneering figures in war and travel photography. Born in Venice or Corfu to a Venetian noble family with roots in Corfu, Beato's early life remains somewhat obscure, but he acquired his first photographic lens in P...