Indian Treasures at the Getty Gallery showcases delightful Victorian era photography

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7 years ago

Indian Treasures at the Getty Gallery showcases delightful Victorian era photography

Indian Treasures at the Getty Gallery showcases Victorian era photography, August 2017

There’s another cracking photographic exhibition on display at the Getty Gallery near London’s Oxford Circus, with Indian Treasures revealing some stunning images from the Victorian era.

The website adds context to the exhibition:

In recognition of 70 years of Indian independence, Getty Images Gallery presents a selection of the earliest photographic views of the subcontinent. The landscapes and portraits were photographed predominantly by Europeans keenly aware of the increasingly exotic tastes of their Western audience.

As such, the style and composition of the works reflect a somewhat romantic aesthetic familiar to the Victorian era tourists and temporary residents seeking a distinctive memento of their time in this captivating country.

Much of the material for Indian Treasures was sourced from the Getty Archive’s Vintage Room and includes vintage large-format glass plate negatives and albumen prints, as well as colour prints made using the rarely seen photocrom process.

The technology behind the photographic processes is also explained:

Advances in photographic equipment and chemistry throughout the later 19th century led to an explosion of amateur photographic societies in urban centers around the globe, including Bombay, now Mumbai.

Simultaneously, professional photographers such as Samuel Bourne took advantage of the new, less cumbersome cameras and more stable chemistry to photograph increasingly distant locations.

Closer to home, professional studios produced high quality portraits for sitters of all classes. The Maharajahs featured in Indian Treasures are believed to have been photographed during a London visit, probably for Queen Victoria’s Diamond Jubilee.

Each of the original prints on display has been faithfully copied and reproduced using the latest darkroom and printing techniques. The museum quality reproductions, which are available for purchase in a range of sizes, allow the public to fully explore and enjoy these sublime photographs, free of their bound volumes and away from their traditional archival home.