India (1865–68, published 1869–70): Art, History and Details

India (1865–68, published 1869–70) is in the Cleveland Museum of Art collection. The museum's creator attribution is Louis-Théophile Marie Rousselet (French, 1845–1929).

The work and its context

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

Concerned that his drawings did not do justice to the splendor of India’s monuments, Rousselet learned photography in India that year, a remarkable accomplishment. He proved to be a talented photographer with a sophisticated sense of composition. The scenes in this volume sweep across sites of Sultanate, Rajput, and Mughal power in northern India, from the sacred Hindu city of Varanasi on the Ganges River to Alwar in Rajasthan. Also included are several scenes of industry and portraits of Indian rulers.

Object facts

• Title: India
• Date: 1865–68, published 1869–70
• Creator attribution: Louis-Théophile Marie Rousselet (French, 1845–1929)
• Culture: France, 19th century
• Type: Bound Volume
• Technique: album with 39 albumen prints
• Collection: PH - French 20th Century
• Department: Photography
• Accession number: 2022.58

A detail from the museum

Louis Rousselet described himself as a “scientific traveler” when he went to India alone at age 18 in 1863 and stayed into 1868.

Collection credit

Alma Kroeger Fund

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.