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The Arch of Janus

ca. 1844
Not on view
On loan to The Met
This work of art is currently on loan to the museum.
The weathered facade and architectural geometry of the four-sided Arch of Janus dominates this daguerreotype of ancient structures in the Forum Boarium. The two figures seated at the base of the central arch lend scale to the monument, a visual device adopted from earlier printed tourist views. Originally an optician, Richebourg sold this daguerreotype from his Paris shop. Although he was among the first professional photographers in the world—he trained under the daguerreotype’s inventor, Louis-Jacques-Mandé Daguerre—by the time he traveled to Rome, about 1844, a number of local and foreign photographers were already active in the city.

Artwork Details

Object Information
  • Title: The Arch of Janus
  • Artist: Pierre-Ambrose Richebourg (French, 1810–1893)
  • Date: ca. 1844
  • Medium: Daguerreotype
  • Dimensions: 8 7/8 × 11 in. (22.5 × 27.9 cm)
  • Classification: Photographs
  • Credit Line: Collection W. Bruce & Delaney H. Lundberg
  • Curatorial Department: Photographs