Entrance to the Minakshi Sundareshvara Temple, Madurai

1858

Entrance to the Minakshi Sundareshvara Temple, Madurai, 1858. Captain Linnaeus Tripe (British, 1822–1902). Albumen print from a waxed paper negative; image: 30.6 x 37.1 cm (12 1/16 x 14 5/8 in.); paper: 30.6 x 37.1 cm (12 1/16 x 14 5/8 in.); mount: 45.5 x 57.3 cm (17 15/16 x 22 9/16 in.). The Cleveland Museum of Art, Purchase from the J. H. Wade Fund 2020.212 Most mid-19th-century photographers shot architecture from just one or two key angles. Linnaeus Tripe pioneered a methodical method for documenting all of a monument’s main components, providing in-depth information about a site’s entire structure. This approach may have been informed by a knowledge of surveying and mapping techniques gained through military service. This photograph shows the relationship in space and scale between one of the towering gateways and the modestly sized original entrance to this Madurai temple complex.