Avenue of the Banian Trees, Seringham, India (1858): Art, History and Details

Avenue of the Banian Trees, Seringham, India (1858) is in the Cleveland Museum of Art collection. The museum's creator attribution is Captain Linnaeus Tripe (British, 1822–1902).

The work and its context

The museum's open-access catalogue describes the work:

A rare, beautiful example of Linnaeus Tripe concentrating simply on the landscape, this carefully composed image depicts a picturesque avenue of banyan trees, dense with foliage. Nearly 1,000 miles of road in the Salem District of India were lined by these trees, providing travelers with shade and shelter from the country's intense climate. The inherent characteristics of Tripe's paper negative—with its broad effects of light and shade and lack of crisp details—magnifies the impressionistic appearance of a scene filled with filtered sunlight. The abstract patterns of light and shadow lead the viewer's eyes down the centrally positioned road and through the compelling composition.

Object facts

• Title: Avenue of the Banian Trees, Seringham, India
• Date: 1858
• Creator attribution: Captain Linnaeus Tripe (British, 1822–1902)
• Culture: England, 19th century
• Type: Photograph
• Technique: salted paper print, albumenized, from calotype negative
• Dimensions: Image: 24.6 x 37 cm (9 11/16 x 14 9/16 in.); Matted: 50.8 x 61 cm (20 x 24 in.)
• Collection: PH - British 19th Century
• Department: Photography
• Accession number: 1994.18

Collection credit

The Jane B. Tripp Charitable Lead Annuity Trust

Further reading listed by the museum

• Cleveland Museum of Art, Tom E Hinson. Catalogue of Photography. Cleveland, OH: Cleveland Museum of Art, 1996.

View the collection record

See the museum's photographs and full catalogue entry. Catalogue text is reproduced from the Cleveland Museum of Art's open-access data, with HTML formatting removed. This object and its supplied image are designated CC0.