Cleveland Museum of Art

Tamil Gateway (Gopura), Tamil Nadu

Date

c. 1860

Medium

stereoscopic albumen print from glass plate negative

Culture

Unknown, 19th century

Department

Photography

Institution

Cleveland Museum of Art

A stereograph, when seen through a viewer, produces the illusion of a three-dimensional scene and creates a “you-are-there” sensation. This stereo view documents a Hindu temple in the southern Indian state of Tamil Nadu. The high gopura or gatehouse leading into the temple precinct is characteristic of medieval temples constructed in that region. Popular beginning with their introduction to the public in London in 1851, stereographs inspired a sense of awe that would have compounded a viewer’s impression of India’s architectural wonders. Stereographs were introduced to the public in London in 1851 and became wildly popular from the 1860s to around 1930.

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