deem-data/ArtiFact huggingface dataset:
Insteekslot
Object type: key
Date: 1800 – 1900
Materials: copper, iron

Een insteekslot van een meubel, tevens muziekdoos. De vierhoekige slotkast is op een iets grotere koperen montageplaat bevestigd. Twee bijbehorende sleutels met klaverbladvormige pijp en een kleine sleutel met koperen greep voor het opwinden van de muziekdoos.
Bronze (Do), Woman Grooming Pekingese Dog, from the series "The Five Metals (Gokin no uchi)"
Object type: print
Date: 1801 – 1833
Techniques: woodblock print, surimono
Location: japan
Artist: totoya hokkei
Artist role: artist
Artist nationality: japanese
Artist dates: 1780 – 1850
Terracotta fragment of a bowl?
Object type: fragment of a bowl
Date: 600 – 301
Materials: terracotta
Culture: unknown fabric

Black glazed fragment from a bowl?
Jesus before Pilate
Object type: print
Date: 1644 – 1652
Techniques: etching
Artist: wenceslaus hollar
Artist role: artist
Artist nationality: bohemian
Artist dates: 1607 – 1677
Subjects: men,jesus

Christ is brought from the left towards Pilate's house. Pilate stands on steps outside his door and looks down on Christ. Various church vessels are scattered on the ground.
Twee dames voeren een gesprek
Object type: print
Date: 1787 – 1787
Materials: paper
Techniques: engraving, etching
Location: amsterdam
Artist: reinier vinkeles (i)
Artist role: draughtsman, print maker
Artist dates: 1741 – 1816
Subjects: reading, fan, conversation, dialogue; conversation piece
Inscriptions: collector's mark: Lugt 240

Deze prent is mogelijk gebruikt als illustratie in: Mercier, Louis-Sébastien. De Neef van Guadeloupe. Amsterdam: Erven van Pieter Meijer en Gerrit Warnars, 1787.
Saint Philip Neri, kneeling at left, with the Virgin and child appearing at upper right
Object type: print
Date: 1729 – 1729
Techniques: aquatint, etching
Artist: nicolas le sueur
Artist role: artist
Artist nationality: french
Artist dates: 1691 – 1764
Page from a Copy of The Qur'an
Object type: painting
Date: 1501 – 1700
Materials: gold, ink, paper
Culture: islamic
Location: iran
Landschap met een ruïne
Object type: sketchbook leaf
Date: 1820 – 1872
Materials: chalk, paper, watercolor
Techniques: brush
Artist: hendrik abraham klinkhamer
Artist role: draughtsman, painter, print maker
Artist dates: 1810 – 1872
Subjects: landscape with ruins

Blad 29 recto uit een schetsboek met 39 bladen.
Familieportret van een man, vrouw en baby
Object type: cabinet photograph
Date: 1860 – 1900
Materials: cardboard, photographic support
Techniques: albumen print
Subjects: adult woman, parents with their children, adult man, child, historical persons
Inscriptions: inscription: ‘Chruch & Brantingham/ photographic artists/ 119/ High St/ Sunderland’
Triomf van Galatea
Object type: print
Date: 1701 – 1701
Materials: paper
Techniques: engraving, etching
Location: paris
Subjects: triumph of galatea, polyphemus playing the syrinx
Inscriptions: collector's mark: Lugt 2228

De zeenimf Galatea rust achterover op een wagen, voortgetrokken door vissen. Ze wordt omringd door nimfen en putti. In de lucht zweeft Polyphemus die op zijn panfluit een liefdeslied speelt voor Galatea.
Bacchus en Ariadne
Object type: drawing
Date: 1694 – 1766
Materials: paper
Techniques: brush, pen
Artist: matthijs balen (1684-1766)
Artist role: draughtsman, painter, print maker
Artist dates: 1684 – 1766
Subjects: (story of) ariadne and bacchus
De Oude Kerk te Middelburg
Object type: print
Date: 1751 – 1760
Materials: paper
Techniques: etching
Location: amsterdam
Subjects: church (exterior)
Inscriptions: collector's mark: Lugt 195

Gezicht op de Noordmonsterkerk te Middelburg, in de situatie omstreeks 1743. Deze in 1835 gesloopte kerk stond ook bekend als de Oude Kerk en de Sint-Pieterskerk.
Omlijsting met miskelk en hostie
Object type: print
Date: 1650 – 1750
Materials: paper
Techniques: engraving
Location: southern netherlands
Artist: Anonymous
Subjects: the eucharist ~ the fourth of the seven sacraments
Inscriptions: collector's mark: Lugt 2228, collector's mark: Lugt 240

Een omlijsting met bovenaan putti die het Allerheiligste aanbidden: de miskelk en hostie. Links en rechts en onder symbolen voor de Eucharistie. Links putti die graan voor het brood oogsten. Rechts putti die druiven boven een schaal uitpersen.
Mars and Victory
Object type: plaquette
Materials: copper alloy, patina
Artist: moderno (galeazzo mondella)
Artist role: artist
Artist nationality: italian
Artist dates: 1467 – 1528
Subjects: victory
Scarab with the name Wahibre, either Psamtik I or Apries
Object type: scarab, wahibre
Date: 664 – 570
Materials: mineral, onyx
Location: egypt
Subjects: scarabs
Didoos Dood, Boertig in Hollandsche kleedy afgebeeld / La Mort de Didon, Representée en burlesque, à la Hollandoise
Object type: print
Date: 1758 – 1758
Materials: paper
Techniques: engraving, etching
Location: amsterdam
Subjects: extinguishing a fire, (story of) dido - death, tragedy, urination, fainting, swooning - bb - out of doors, smoking pot as symbol of 'vanitas'
Inscriptions: collector's mark: Lugt 2488

Het doorstoken lichaam van Dido liggend op een houtstapel voor een Amsterdamse grachtenhuis. Iris, een gevleugelde vrouwenfiguur, knipt een lok van haar haar af waarmee haar ziel bevrijd wordt. Op de brandstapel een portret van 'Wigmana'. Links pist een Cupido het vuur in een testje uit. Op de voorgrond links wordt een flauwgevallen vrouw bijgebracht. Mogelijk houdt de voorstelling verband met het toneelstuk 'Didoos Doot' van Andries Pels (1668). Onderaan in de marge twee zesregelige verzen in het Nederlands en Frans.
La Suisse et la Savoie
Object type: stereograph
Date: 1860 – 1880
Materials: cardboard, photographic support
Techniques: albumen print
Location: savoie
Artist: ernest eléonor pierre lamy
Artist role: publisher
Artist dates: 1828 – 1900
Subjects: glacier, rock-formations
Inscriptions: number: ‘29.’
Landschap met molens
Object type: sketchbook leaf
Date: 1907 – 1907
Materials: chalk, paper
Artist: willem cornelis rip
Artist role: draughtsman, painter
Artist dates: 1856 – 1922
Subjects: windmill in landscape

Blad 39 recto uit een schetsboek met 41 bladen.
Strook naaldkant met dubbele rozetbloem
Object type: strip
Date: 1500 – 1599
Materials: linen
Techniques: needle lace, reticella
Location: italy
Artist: Anonymous

Strook naturelkleurig naaldkant, reticella. Een zich herhalend patroon van één rozetbloem met acht bloemblaadjes, met in het centrum een rozetbloempje met evenveel bloemblaadjes. Het patroon, dus elke rozetbloem, beslaat de volledige breedte van de strook. Boven- en onderzijde zijn afgewerkt met een rechte rand.
Christ Falling Under the Cross
Object type: panel
Date: 1594 – 1594
Materials: glass
Artist: franz fallenter
Artist role: artist
Artist nationality: german
Artist dates: 1550 – 1616
Subjects: christ,madonna and child,cross,coat of arms

This window shows Christ falling under the weight of the cross as he is forced to carry it to the site of his crucifixion. It is part of a set depicting the life of Christ that was originally installed in the cloister of the Cistercian convent Rathausen, near Lucerne, in central Switzerland. Cloisters, the arcaded passages connecting one part of a convent or monastery to another, were the first places in Cistercian religious houses to be glazed with colored figural windows.
Portret van Hajo Albert Spandaw
Object type: print
Date: 1822 – 1822
Materials: paper
Techniques: engraving, etching
Subjects: hajo albert spandaw, historical persons, portrait of a writer
Inscriptions: collector's mark: Lugt 2228, inscription: ‘n. 23 oct. 1777. +28 oct. 1855.’

Prent volgens Van Someren ook gebruikt in: Nederlandsche Muzen-Almanak. Rotterdam: Johannes Immerzeel, 1822.
Portret van een onbekende vrouw
Object type: photograph
Date: 1885 – 1904
Materials: cardboard, celluloid, paper
Techniques: albumen print
Location: antwerp
Subjects: anonymous historical person portrayed
Inscriptions: inscription: ‘Les Clichés sont conservés.’, address: ‘Rue du Vallon vert 28/ ANVERS/ Maison/ a/ BRUGES/ Rue Notre Dame 14/ Maison/ a/ BRUXELLES/ Rue du pont neuf No 1./ 1 et 3, Rue de la corne 1 et 3./ GAND’
Vase
Object type: vase
Date: 1900 – 1900
Materials: glass
Artist: emile gallé
Artist role: designer
Artist nationality: french
Artist dates: 1846 – 1904
Chilean peso piece
Object type: peso
Date: 1894 – 1894
Materials: silver
Techniques: struck
Artist: louis-oscar roty
Artist role: artist
Artist nationality: french
Artist dates: 1846 – 1911
The Test of the Corset
Object type: print
Materials: paper
Techniques: engraving
Location: france
Artist: after antoine francois dennel
Twee liggende rammen
Object type: print
Date: 1791 – 1839
Materials: paper
Techniques: etching
Location: netherlands
Artist: pieter gerardus van os
Artist role: draughtsman, painter, print maker
Artist dates: 1776 – 1839
Subjects: ram
Inscriptions: collector's mark: Lugt 2228
Strook kloskant met s-ranken
Object type: strip
Date: 1875 – 1899
Materials: linen
Techniques: lace
Location: belgium
Artist: Anonymous

Strook naturelkleurige kloskant: duchesse-kant. Op een vlechtengrond staat een lopend patroon. S-ranken met een drietal madeliefjes en een randje van campanes vormen de schulpen en eindigen in een voluut met enkelvoudig roosje.
Optochten en ruiterspelen
Object type: album leaf
Date: 1617 – 1617
Materials: paper
Techniques: etching
Subjects: philipp leiningen-westerburg-rixingen (ii), fabulous beings with wings - aa - female human figure, 'laub- und bandelwerk' ~ ornament
Inscriptions: date

Genummerd: 38. Tekst in het Duits in de cartouche. Deze prent maakt deel uit van een album.
Ondergedoken Amerikaanse piloten
Object type: album leaf
Date: 1944 – 1945
Materials: paper, plastic
Techniques: photography
Location: amsterdam
Artist: Anonymous
Subjects: amsterdam, tonny van renterghem, berlin, fritz kahlenberg, underground movement, partisans, netherlands

Twee foto's van ondergedoken Amerikaanse piloten. Foto boven: twee Amerikaanse piloten ondergedoken in Amsterdam. Foto onder: twee Amerikaanse piloten ondergedoken bij een familie op een boerderij, zittend op een kar.
Pas kaart van de kust van Carolina tusschen C. de Canaveral en C. Henry
Object type: print
Date: 1684 – 1799
Materials: paper
Techniques: engraving, etching
Location: amsterdam
Subjects: sailing-ship, sailing-boat, archer's weapons: bow and arrow, indigenous peoples of north america, united states of america
Inscriptions: collector's mark: Lugt 2228

Paskaart van een deel van de oostkust van de Verenigde Staten, vanaf Kaap Canaveral tot Kaap Hateras, met een inzetkaart van Georgetown. De kaart bevat twee kompasrozen, het Noorden ligt rechts. Rechtsmidden de titel, het uitgeversadres en de schaalverdeling, weergegeven in Duitse, Spaanse en Engelse of Franse mijlen (schaal: c. 1:1.800.000). De gegevens zijn geflankeerd door twee mannen met pijl en boog.
Terracotta footed bowl
Object type: kylix
Date: 750 – 600
Materials: terracotta
Culture: cypriot

Angular form with bands and lotus flower.
Swallow
Object type: hanging scroll
Date: 1636 – 1713
Materials: ink, paper
Culture: japanese
Artist: kano tsunenobu
Artist role: artist
Artist nationality: japanese
Artist dates: 1636 – 1713
Subjects: birds
Zittende man steekt zijn pijp aan een test aan
Object type: watercolor
Date: 1795 – 1857
Materials: chalk, paper, watercolor
Techniques: brush
Artist: woutherus mol
Artist role: draughtsman, painter
Artist dates: 1785 – 1857
Subjects: pipe ~ tobacco (+ taking (particular) foodstuffs: eating, drinking, smoking, chewing, etc.)
Heilige Familie met het kind Johannes de Doper
Object type: print
Date: 1760 – 1790
Materials: paper
Techniques: mezzotint
Location: england
Artist: william baillie
Artist role: print maker
Artist dates: 1723 – 1810
Subjects: holy family with john the baptist (as child)
Inscriptions: collector's mark: Lugt 240
Vase fragment
Object type: vase fragment
Date: 4000 – 3000
Materials: terracotta
Culture: neolithic
Minerva overwint de onwetendheid en de luiheid
Object type: titelblad, titelpagina
Date: 1716 – 1761
Materials: paper
Techniques: engraving, etching
Location: amsterdam
Subjects: minerva as patroness, sloth, indolence, 'acedia', 'desidia'; 'accidia' (ripa) ~ personification of one of the seven deadly sins, ignorance; 'ignoranza', 'ignoranza di tutte le cose', 'ignoranza in un ricco senza lettere' (ripa), 'genio' (ripa)
Inscriptions: collector's mark: Lugt 2228

Minerva, gezeten op de wolken, heeft de Onwetendheid onder haar voeten en de luiheid, met een schildpad, vlucht van haar. Bij een globe en bij de titels van schrijver César Vichard de Saint Réal zit het Genie.
Celebrated Waterfall
Object type: print
Date: 1820 – 1830
Materials: ink, paper
Techniques: woodblock print
Culture: japanese
Artist: yanagawa shigenobu
Artist role: artist
Artist nationality: japanese
Artist dates: 1787 – 1832
Subjects: waterfalls,moon
Armchair (part of a set)
Object type: armchair
Date: 1734 – 1766
Materials: wood, wool
Techniques: embroidery, painting, silvered

This chair clearly illustrates the strong influence of French Rococo furniture current in Venice at the time.
Man in Horse-Drawn Cart Beside Lake
Object type: drawing and watercolor
Materials: charcoal, paper
Techniques: drawing, stumping
Location: england
Artist: follower of thomas gainsborough
Bust of William Pitt
Object type: sculpture
Date: 1820 – 1820
Materials: marble
Techniques: carved
Location: england
Artist: after joseph nollekens
Artist nationality: english
Artist dates: 1737 – 1823
Subjects: portraits: male subject, busts, head, man, portrait, portraits
Inscriptions: Inscribed: J. Nolekens R.A.
Gezicht op de Bottelpoort aan de Oude Haven te Nijmegen
Object type: drawing
Date: 1800 – 1845
Materials: chalk, ink, paper
Techniques: brush, pen
Artist: johannes franciscus christ
Artist role: draughtsman, print maker
Artist dates: 1790 – 1845
Subjects: city-gate, nijmegen
Terracotta strainer
Object type: strainer
Date: 400 – 368
Materials: terracotta
Culture: greek, attic
Subjects: birds,lions

In relief, spout in the form of a lion's head. In red-figure, body of the lion, two birds, head of a woman The strainer fills a small hole at the top of the vase; the liquid flowed out through the lion's head. This uncommon vase belongs to a small group of Attic and South Italian examples.
Meubilair
Object type: sketchbook leaf
Date: 1819 – 1849
Materials: paper, pencil
Artist: willem hendrik schmidt
Artist role: draughtsman, painter, print maker
Artist dates: 1809 – 1849
Subjects: furniture and household effects

Blad 48 recto uit een schetsboek met 52 bladen.
Gezicht op heiwerkzaamheden aan de Barentszkade te Amsterdam
Object type: sketchbook leaf
Date: 1886 – 1891
Materials: chalk, paper
Location: amsterdam
Artist: george hendrik breitner
Artist role: draughtsman, painter, print maker
Artist dates: 1857 – 1923
Subjects: ramming, driving piles (~ building activities), pier, quay, wharf

Pagina 37 uit een schetsboek met 32 bladen.
Tekstblad bij de prent van het ontzet van Kopenhagen, 1659
Object type: print
Date: 1659 – 1659
Materials: paper
Techniques: letterpress printing
Location: amsterdam
Subjects: copenhagen (city)
Inscriptions: date

Tekstblad bij de plattegrond van Kopenhagen met de Hollandse vloot die de belegering van de stad door de Zweden doorbreekt, 19-21 februari 1659. Beschrijving van de gebeurtenissen in 4 kolommen, op het eind de legenda A-S voor bij de kaart.
Giving Drink to the Thirsty
Object type: print
Date: 1737 – 1742
Techniques: etching
Artist: françois hutin
Artist role: artist
Artist nationality: french
Artist dates: 1686 – 1758

This print is from a series depicting The Seven Mercies made by François Hutin presumably during his stay in Rome, from 1737 to 1742. His facility with the etching needle is evident in the expressive forms of the figures and the mastery of light effects. After his death, his son would claim them as his own work, altering the first initial in the signature from "F" to "C" when he published a collection of his etchings in Dresden in 1763.
Maria met kind
Object type: print
Date: 1715 – 1715
Materials: paper
Techniques: engraving, etching
Location: paris
Subjects: madonna: i.e. mary with the christ-child, christ-child looking or turning to mary ~ madonna-representations
Inscriptions: collector's mark: Lugt 2228
British prisoners released by the Boers, marching into Pretoria after its capture, to be rearmed, South Africa
Object type: stereograph
Date: 1901 – 1901
Materials: cardboard, paper
Techniques: albumen print
Location: new york city
Artist: Anonymous
Subjects: release from prison
Inscriptions: inscription: ‘Works and Studios ~/ Arlington, N.J. Littleton, N.H. Washington, D.C.’, inscription, copyright notice: ‘Copyright 1901 by Underwood & Underwood.’, number: ‘142’
Curtain Tieback
Object type: curtain tieback
Date: 1880 – 1895
Materials: brass, glass
Location: england
Subjects: flowers
The Figure of Religion (recto/verso)
Object type: drawing
Date: 1820 – 1821
Materials: graphite, ink, iron
Techniques: brush, pen
Artist: eugène delacroix
Artist role: artist
Artist nationality: french
Artist dates: 1798 – 1863
Subjects: female nudes,cross
The Navy's Man-of-War 'Amsterdam'off the Westerlaag on Y at Amsterdam
Object type: painting
Date: 1807 – 1807
Materials: canvas, oil
Artist: nicolaas baur
Artist role: draughtsman
Artist dates: 1767 – 1820
Subjects: sailing-ship, sailing-boat, ship bound for the harbour, amsterdam

Het oorlogsschip 'Amsterdam' voor de Westerlaag op het IJ voor Amsterdam. Pendant van SK-A-1004.
Schetsen van Hokusai - deel 3
Object type: book
Date: 1878 – 1878
Materials: paper
Techniques: woodcut
Location: japan
Artist: katsushika hokusai
Artist role: draughtsman, print maker
Artist dates: 1760 – 1849
Inscriptions: collector's mark: ‘Rijksschool voor kunstnijverheid’ Lugt 3937, collector's mark: Lugt 2228
Einde van de zeeslag bij Kamperduin, 11 oktober 1797
Object type: drawing
Date: 1797 – 1798
Materials: paper
Techniques: brush, pen
Location: netherlands
Artist: frans anton van spijck
Artist role: print maker
Subjects: jan willem de winter, battle (+ naval force), battle of camperdown
Inscriptions: collector's mark: Lugt 2228

De Zeeslag bij Kamperduin op 11 oktober 1797 tussen de Bataafse vloot onder bevel van viceadmiraal Jan Willem de Winter en een Britse vloot onder admiraal Adam Duncan. Einde van de slag met de de Vrijheid mastloos tussen Engelse schepen, de brandende Hercules en links vluchtende Bataatse schepen. Onder zwaar bewolkte hemel. In het onderschrift een legenda A-H van Bataafse schepen. Zie pendant.
Queen Victoria
Object type: painting
Date: 1838 – 1838
Materials: canvas, oil
Culture: american
Artist: thomas sully
Artist role: artist
Artist nationality: american
Artist dates: 1783 – 1872
Subjects: portraits,women,queen victoria

This impressive coronation portrait of Alexandrina Victoria (1819–1901), young Queen Victoria, shown ascending the throne, is the highlight of Thomas Sully’s successful career. The artist established himself in Philadelphia as one of the finest portraitists in the country and created a vogue for full-length portraiture, especially through his highly engaging and flattering depictions of women. The commission to paint the young royal came from the Philadelphia chapter of the Society of the Sons of Saint George, a benevolent association committed to supporting English emigrants and their families. Sully accepted the Saint George commission, which took him to London, but did not complete the portrait until his return to Philadelphia, in the fall of 1838. The artist conceived of the collaboration in a series of sittings with the queen, during which he took sketches of her robes and figural positions he envisioned for the final work. Many of these studies are also in The Met’s collection.
Self-Portrait
Object type: painting
Date: 1807 – 1819
Materials: canvas, oil
Artist: george henry harlow
Artist role: artist
Artist nationality: british
Artist dates: 1787 – 1819
Subjects: men,self-portraits
Terracotta vase fragment with floral decoration and bands
Object type: vase fragment
Date: 1800 – 1700
Materials: terracotta
Culture: minoan

From Knossos, Crete Polychrome fragment with floral ornament in white and orange bands on dark ground.
Waterpompen in de elektriciteitcentrale in Moengo
Object type: photograph
Date: 1929 – 1930
Materials: photographic support
Techniques: photography
Location: suriname
Artist: Anonymous
Subjects: opencast mine; strip mining
Scarab Inscribed Maatkare (Hatshepsut), Given Life Forever
Object type: scarab
Date: 1479 – 1458
Materials: stone
Techniques: glazing
Location: egypt
Subjects: scarabs
Assemblée Nationale. Galerie des représentants du peuple (1848)
Object type: print
Date: 1848 – 1849
Materials: paper
Techniques: tone lithography
Location: paris
Subjects: marie roch louis reybaud, historical persons, politician, e.g. party leader, writer, poet, author
Inscriptions: collector's mark: Lugt 2228
Suecia Antiqua et Hodierna
Object type: print
Date: 1670 – 1670
Materials: paper
Techniques: etching
Location: france
Subjects: castle

Kungliga Biblioteket, 'Suecia': http://www.kb.se/samlingarna/Kartor-bilder/Suecia-antiqua/ (geraadpleegd november 2016).
William Shakespeare
Object type: sculpture
Materials: bronze
Culture: american
Artist: john quincy adams ward
Artist role: artist
Artist nationality: american
Artist dates: 1830 – 1910
Subjects: shakespeare,men,authors

In 1870 Ward produced a small study of William Shakespeare (1564-1616) that was approved by the City of New York for a heroic statue to be installed in Central Park. The over-lifesize finished sculpture, celebrating the 300th anniversary of the poet's birth, was unveiled on May 23, 1872, eight years after the monument’s cornerstone was laid. Although there are small differences between the monumental bronze and subsequent statuettes, all depict a robust Shakespeare standing in a modified contrapposto pose. Ward took great pains to ensure accuracy, relying primarily on well-known precedents in sculpture and prints. The popular actor James Morrison Steele Mackay posted for Ward on several occasions. The “Shakespeare” statuette was one of three bronzes by Ward that the Metropolitan purchased from his widow in 1917.
Trials, plate 60 from Los Caprichos
Object type: print
Date: 1797 – 1799
Materials: paper
Techniques: aquatint, etching
Location: spain
Artist: goya (francisco de goya y lucientes)
Artist role: artist
Artist nationality: spanish
Artist dates: 1746 – 1828
De Koninklijke benoeming van den heer J.T. Cremer tot President van de Ned. Handelmaatschappij
Object type: cartoon
Date: 1907 – 1907
Materials: paper
Techniques: lithograph
Location: amsterdam
Artist: johan braakensiek
Artist role: draughtsman, print maker
Artist dates: 1858 – 1940
Subjects: amsterdam, colonial system, riding a horse, ass, or mule; rider, horseman, personifications of countries, nations, states, districts, etc., tales and fairy tales, political caricatures and satires

De Nederlandse Maagd en Insulinde (de kolonie Nederlands-Indië) zien de aankomst van Jacob Theodoor Cremer bij de Nederlandsche Handel-Maatschappij, rijdend op een ezel die gouden munten poept (Tafeltje Dek Je, Ezeltje Strek Je) uit het sprookje van Grimm.
[The Wilderness Battlefield]
Object type: photograph
Date: 1866 – 1866
Techniques: albumen silver print, glass negative
Artist: g. o. brown
Artist role: artist
Artist nationality: american
Artist dates: 1860 – 1889
Subjects: american civil war,men

There is still much to learn about the role of the camera during the Civil War. One day we may know more about some of the war’s most intriguing field photographs: the macabre studies of skulls and unburied bones discovered by an unknown photographer in the Wilderness battlefield where Generals Robert E. Lee and Ulysses S. Grant had fought to a bloody draw in May 1864. It seems likely that these photographs date from the immediate postwar period, during cleanup operations. Printed from negatives that were probably unintentionally solarized during development in the field, the photographs appear illuminated by an unearthly light and are, in part, tonally reversed: the black sky becoming an appropriate symbol for the terrible place called Wilderness, second only to Gettysburg in the number of Union killed, wounded, and missing.