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Madura: The Vygay River, with Causeway, across to Madura.

January-February 1858
Not on view
On loan to The Met
This work of art is currently on loan to the museum.
For Hindus, a tirtha, literally a ford or a crossing place, is a sacred site that allows one to pass from worldly engagement to transcendence. In Tripe’s photograph the dramatically receding causeway leads the eye to the gateway around the Minakshi Sundareshvara Temple, dedicated to the god Shiva and his consort Minakshi. Shiva is said to have created the Vygay River, which, like most rivers in the far south of India, dries up during the hottest months of the year.

Artwork Details

Object Information
  • Title: Madura: The Vygay River, with Causeway, across to Madura.
  • Artist: Linnaeus Tripe (British, Devonport (Plymouth Dock) 1822–1902 Devonport)
  • Date: January-February 1858
  • Dimensions: image: 23.1 x 35.4 cm (9 1/8 x 13 15/16 in.)
  • Classification: Photographs
  • Credit Line: National Gallery of Art, Washington, The Carolyn Brody Fund and Horace W. Goldsmith
    Foundation through Robert and Joyce Menschel
  • Curatorial Department: Photographs