Smelting on the River Blythe in Suffolk

Also titled Spiering vangen aan de Blythe Rivier in Suffolk

Peter Henry Emerson (Cuba, 1856–1936)

1883 - 1888

Medium
tracing paper, paper
Classification
photomechanical print
Dimensions
height 263 mm x width 340 mm
Museum
Rijksmuseum
Rights
Public Domain Mark, as the museum states it.
Who can see it
Tweens profiles and older: its subjects are known and suit older children. How works are placed

View at the Rijksmuseum

About this work

From 1850, scenes of fishing and fishermen were a popular genre in painting, which for example explains the success of the Hague School. For photographers it was difficult with the technical means then at their disposal to successfully capture sharp contrasts, backlighting, and the glittering on the water. Emerson here managed not to reduce the fishermen to mere black silhouettes, but rather portray them in subtle shades of grey.