The Cleveland Museum of Art

Collection Online as of April 16, 2024

The Miners' Bridge, on the Llugwy, North Wales

The Miners' Bridge, on the Llugwy, North Wales

1857
(British, 1819–1869)
England, 19th century
albumen print from wet collodion negative
Image: 36.7 x 42.9 cm (14 7/16 x 16 7/8 in.); Matted: 55.9 x 71.1 cm (22 x 28 in.)
Andrew R. and Martha Holden Jennings Fund 1990.33
Location: not on view

Description

Roger Fenton was a versatile and prolific artist who abruptly ended his brief, 12-year career as a professional photographer to return to the practice of law. Nevertheless, his architectural and landscape photographs have brought him recognition as the greatest British photographer of the 1850s. In this picturesque scene, Fenton focused on a single figure ascending a precarious wooden bridge that hangs suspended between two craggy surfaces. He often included people in his photographs to indicate scale and to enliven the composition. Fenton's wet collodion negative rendered the texture of the riverbed in minute detail, transforming the dark tones of the rocks and the random pattern of the light-colored lichens into a lively, abstract design. The slow speed of the negative, relative to the swift movement of the stream, turned the rushing water into a dense, white cloud.
  • Hinson, Tom E. "Notable Acquisitions." The Bulletin of the Cleveland Museum of Art 78, no. 3 (1991): 63-147. Reproduced and Mentioned: p. 93 www.jstor.org
    Cleveland Museum of Art, Tom E Hinson. Catalogue of Photography. Cleveland, OH: Cleveland Museum of Art, 1996. Mentioned and reproduced: P. 22-23, 155
  • Pioneers of Landscape Photography from the Museum's Collection. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (August 12, 2000-January 3, 2001).
    Cleveland, Ohio: The Cleveland Museum of Art; August 12, 2000 - January 3, 2001. "Pioneers of Landscape Photography from the Museum's Collection."
    CMA, November 20,1996 - February 2, 1997: "Legacy of Light: Master Photographs from the Cleveland Museum of Art," see Catalogue of Photography, pp. 22-23.
    Legacy of Light: Master Photographs from the Cleveland Museum of Art. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (November 24, 1996-February 2, 1997).
    Notable Acquisitions. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (June 7-September 15, 1991).
    CMA, June 7 - Sept. 15, 1991: "Notable Acquisitions," CMA Bulletin, 78 (June 1991), p. 93, repr. p. 93.
    Arts Council of Britain, Hayward Gallery, London, Feb. 10- April 17, 1983: "Landscape in Britain: 1850-1950," Exhibition catalogue p. 61. (Also exhibited at Bristol City Museum and Art Gallery, April 30 - June 4, 1983; Stoke-on-Trent City Museum & Art Gallery, June 11 - July 16, 1983; Mappin Art Gallery, Sheffield, July 23 - Aug. 28, 1983.)
  • {{cite web|title=The Miners' Bridge, on the Llugwy, North Wales|url=false|author=Roger Fenton|year=1857|access-date=16 April 2024|publisher=Cleveland Museum of Art}}

Source URL:

https://www.clevelandart.org/art/1990.33