The Mamelon and Malakoff from front of Mortar Battery

April, 1855

Not on view

Fenton’s extensive documentation of the Crimean War—the first use of photography for that purpose—was a commercial endeavor that did not include pictures of battle, the wounded, or the dead. His unprepossessing view of a vast rocky valley instead discloses, in the distance, a site of crucial strategic importance. Fort Malakoff, the general designation of Russian fortifications on two hills (Mamelon and Malakoff) is just perceptible at the horizon line. Malakoff’s capture by the French in September 1855, five months after Fenton made this photograph, ended the eleven-month siege of Sevastopol and was the final episode of the war.

Artwork Details

Overview

Signatures, Inscriptions, and Markings

Provenance

Exhibition History

Title: The Mamelon and Malakoff from front of Mortar Battery
Artist: Roger Fenton (British, 1819–1869)
Date: April, 1855
Medium: Salted paper print from glass negative
Dimensions: Image: 9 1/8 × 13 1/2 in. (23.1 × 34.3 cm)
Sheet: 14 3/4 × 17 13/16 in. (37.5 × 45.3 cm)
Classification: Photographs
Credit Line: Gift of Joyce F. Menschel, in celebration of the Museum’s 150th Anniversary, 2019
Object Number: 2019.348.2
Curatorial Department: Photographs

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On the Beach, Hythe

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Laughing Satyr, Roger Fenton British, Salted paper print from glass negative — Laughing Satyr
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Birth of St. John, Roger Fenton British, Albumen silver print — Birth of St. John
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The Temple. Collection of Antiquities, Roger Fenton British, Albumen silver print from glass negative — The Temple. Collection of Antiquities
Roger Fenton
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