Fissore’s Plow from Tortona, Plow from Parma

1861

Not on view

Trained as a chemist, Semplicini became an ardent promoter of photography and founded Italy’s first professional organization for photographers (the Società Fotografica Toscana) in 1853. His expertise earned him a prestigious commission to document the 1861 Esposizione Italiana, which celebrated the newly declared Kingdom of Italy by presenting the best the country had to offer, from inventions to fine art. This straightforward composition situates two ploughs against the spare backdrop of the exhibition hall’s exterior. Its studied geometry highlights the machinery’s carefully crafted structures, thereby attesting to Italian ingenuity and artisanal skill. The photograph belongs to a series of 150 plates published in an album honoring the event.

Artwork Details

Title: Fissore’s Plow from Tortona, Plow from Parma
Artist: Pietro Semplicini (Italian, active 1850s–90s)
Date: 1861
Medium: Albumen silver print from collodion negative
Dimensions: Image: 4 7/16 × 10 13/16 in. (11.3 × 27.4 cm)
Mount: 12 in. × 17 1/2 in. (30.5 × 44.5 cm)
Classification: Photographs
Credit Line: Purchase, The Buddy Taub Foundation Gift, Dennis A. Roach and Jill Roach, Directors, 2015
Object Number: 2015.582
Curatorial Department: Photographs

More Artwork

In the same medium

From the same time and place

A slider containing 5 items.
Press the down key to skip to the last item.

[Man in Chainmail Tunic Posing as a Dying Soldier], Adrien Constant de Rebecque Swiss, Albumen silver print from collodion glass negative — [Man in Chainmail Tunic Posing as a Dying Soldier]
Adrien Constant de Rebecque
ca. 1863

Château de St.-Germain-en-Laye, Intérieur de la cour, Chapelle, Médéric Mieusement French, Albumen silver print from glass negative — Château de St.-Germain-en-Laye, Intérieur de la cour, Chapelle
Médéric Mieusement
1862–67

Electro–Physiologie, Figure 64, Adrien Tournachon French, Albumen silver print from glass negative — Electro–Physiologie, Figure 64
Adrien Tournachon
Guillaume-Benjamin-Amand Duchenne de Boulogne
1854–56, printed 1862

[Construction Site], Louis Lafon French, Albumen silver print from glass negative — [Construction Site]
Louis Lafon
1880s

Julia Jackson, Julia Margaret Cameron British, born India, Albumen silver print from glass negative — Julia Jackson
Julia Margaret Cameron
1867

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.