San Francisco
Meryon traveled widely during his early career in the French navy, though he never visited San Francisco,
the subject of this panoramic view. He received the commission for this unusually large plate from two real estate speculators, whose profiles appear above the inscription, and who seem to have intended to use the print to sell shares in a fraudulent Franco-Californian company. The artist based the image on five daguerreotypes (now in the collection of the Art Institute of Chicago) and complained about the difficulty of synthesizing the photographs, which had been taken from different positions and under varying lighting conditions.
Artwork Details
- Title: San Francisco
- Artist: Charles Meryon (French, 1821–1868)
- Date: 1855–56
- Medium: Etching on steel; third state of three
- Dimensions: Sheet: 12 3/16 × 39 15/16 in. (31 × 101.5 cm)
- Classification: Prints
- Credit Line: Rogers Fund, 1917
- Object Number: 17.78.37
- Curatorial Department: Drawings and Prints
More Artwork
A slider containing 5 items.
Press the down key to skip to the last item.
Press the down key to skip to the last item.
Charles Meryon
1852
Charles Meryon
19th century
Charles Meryon
1862
Charles Meryon
1853
Charles Meryon
1860
Research Resources
The Met provides unparalleled resources for research and welcomes an international community of students and scholars. The Met's Open Access API is where creators and researchers can connect to the The Met collection. Open Access data and public domain images are available for unrestricted commercial and noncommercial use without permission or fee.
To request images under copyright and other restrictions, please use this Image Request form.
Feedback
We continue to research and examine historical and cultural context for objects in The Met collection. If you have comments or questions about this object record, please complete and submit this form. The Museum looks forward to receiving your comments.