Cleveland Museum of Art

Western Gateway (Gopuram) of the Minakshi Sundareshvara Temple, Madurai

Captain Linnaeus Tripe

Date

1858

Medium

albumenized salt print

Culture

England, 19th century

Department

Photography

Institution

Cleveland Museum of Art

This photograph features part of the same temple complex seen in the panoramic collage by Masumi Hayashi CMA 2015.95 . Initially established during the 1100s, it was expanded on multiple occasions over the next 500 years. The addition of a series of enclosure walls included gateways topped by towering superstructures ornamented with miniature temples and images of deities. The monochrome monumentality of Tripe’s early photographic image, purposefully devoid of human activity, gives the impression of a timeless wonder. He would have had to clear the scene of worshipers and onlookers to achieve the pristine effect. An important pilgrimage site for centuries, this temple continues to draw tens of thousands of worshippers per day.

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