Barricade of General Turr in Via Toledo, Palermo
On loan to The Met
This work of art is currently on loan to the museum.Through his daring 1860 campaign to liberate southern Italy, Giuseppe Garibaldi (1807–1882) became a potent symbol of Italian nationalism and an international celebrity. Le Gray and the novelist Alexandre Dumas both followed the famous Expedition of the Thousand, when Garibaldi set sail from Genoa to Sicily with one thousand supporters, arrived in Marsala, and launched a swift and decisive campaign against Bourbon troops, who were forced to retreat to the mainland. One of the most accomplished photographers of the nineteenth century, Le Gray made a series documenting the resulting “new” ruins of Italy, including shelled buildings in Palermo. In this print, rich in tone and historical import, flags hang above a barricaded street leading toward the royal palace, then occupied by a victorious Garibaldi.
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Artwork Details
- Title: Barricade of General Turr in Via Toledo, Palermo
- Artist: Gustave Le Gray (French, 1820–1884)
- Date: 1860
- Medium: Albumen silver print from waxed paper negative
- Dimensions: Mount: 14 1/2 in. × 19 7/8 in. (36.8 × 50.5 cm)
Image: 9 5/8 × 15 3/4 in. (24.4 × 40 cm) - Classification: Photographs
- Credit Line: W. Bruce & Delaney H. Lundberg Collection
- Curatorial Department: Photographs