Untitled (Ruins of Roman Forum)
c. 1867
Medium
Albumen print
Dimensions
Image/paper: 31.5 × 40.2 cm (12 7/16 × 15 7/8 in.); Mount: 46.4 × 64.1 cm (18 5/16 × 25 1/4 in.)
Classification
albumen silver print
Department
Photography and Media
Museum
Art Institute of Chicago
Accession Number
54467
Rights
Public Domain
About this artwork
Abandoning medical studies in his native Edinburgh, Robert MacPherson traveled to Rome in 1840 to try his hand as a landscape painter. His move coincided with a rise in tourism to Italy, in particular to the country’s classical monuments. MacPherson took up photography in 1851 to capitalize on this burgeoning tourist trade, and he soon gained success as a landscape photographer producing deluxe views for British customers. MacPherson has carefully omitted signs of the present in this image of th...
About the Artist
Robert MacPherson · 1811–1872
Robert Macpherson (1811–1872) was a Scottish artist who began his career in medicine before pivoting to painting and ultimately pioneering photography in Rome. Born in the Tayside region near Edinburgh, he enrolled at the University of Edinburgh in 1831 to study medicine but left without graduating after four years. He then trained at the Royal Scottish Academy, where he exhibited portraits from 1...