Photographic Practices of the 1850s: Examples by Tripe's Contemporaries

John Murray
Scottish, 1809–1898
Nynee Tall from South End, c. 1858–1862
paper negative
National Gallery of Art, Washington, Gift of Mary and Dan Solomon and Patrons’ Permanent Fund, 2006.133.96

Dr. John Murray took up photography in 1849 and photographed around Agra in the North-West Provinces in India from the 1850s through the 1860s. Like Tripe, he significantly retouched his negatives. Here, he painted the sky with a black pigment so that it would have a uniform tone and applied a yellow wash to the water so that it would be lighter in the resulting print. (See corresponding albumen print, 2006.133.96.1)

Louis De Clercq
French, 1836–1901
Kalaat el Hosn (Castle of the Knights, Syria), 1859
waxed-paper negative
National Gallery of Art, Washington, Diana and Mallory Walker Fund, 2007.92.1

De Clercq painted the sky on his negative with pigment so that it would have a uniform light tone. Careful comparison between the negative and the following print reveals that he also painted over hills in the distance, lowering the horizon line. In addition, he retouched the bush in the center of the composition and the rocks in the foreground to give them more texture and definition.

Louis De Clercq
French, 1836–1901
Kalaat el Hosn (Castle of the Knights, Syria), 1859
albumen print from waxed-paper negative
National Gallery of Art, Washington, Diana and Mallory Walker Fund, 2007.92.2