Sebastopol from Cathcart's Hill

1855

Not on view

Cathcart Hill, named for the British general whose grave lay nearby, was the observation point from which the allied commanders of the Crimean War gathered to follow the progress of the siege of Sebastopol. This image is an interesting example of Fenton's pursuit of his own pictorial agenda, regardless of the avowed purpose of his mission. Sebastopol is barely visible in the distance. The vast, desolate emptiness seems hardly worth a battle; the picture is really about the tenuous hold of man over an indifferent terrain.

Artwork Details

Title: Sebastopol from Cathcart's Hill
Artist: Roger Fenton (British, 1819–1869)
Date: 1855
Medium: Salted paper print from glass negative
Dimensions: Image: 21.9 x 34.7 cm (8 5/8 x 13 11/16 in.)
Mount: 41.7 x 57.2 cm (16 7/16 x 22 1/2 in.)
Classification: Photographs
Credit Line: Gilman Collection, Purchase, Mrs. Walter Annenberg and The Annenberg Foundation Gift, 2005
Object Number: 2005.100.68
Curatorial Department: Photographs

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On the Beach, Hythe

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Laughing Satyr, Roger Fenton British, Salted paper print from glass negative — Laughing Satyr
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Birth of St. John, Roger Fenton British, Albumen silver print — Birth of St. John
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The Temple. Collection of Antiquities, Roger Fenton British, Albumen silver print from glass negative — The Temple. Collection of Antiquities
Roger Fenton
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