View of the Square in Melting Snow

Louis-Pierre-Théophile Dubois de Nehaut

1854–56 · Salted paper print from glass negative · Photographs

This view was taken in Brussels, from the balcony of No. 7, Place de Cologne, the residence of the photographer. It is one of several images Dubois de Nehaut made of the square from that vantage point, at various times of the year. The tracks made by carriages and people on the melting snow have created a dynamic design of such compelling geometry that the photographer deemed it a worthy subject for a picture--an eccentric notion for the time.

Artist

Louis-Pierre-Théophile Dubois de Nehaut

Date

1854–56

Medium

Salted paper print from glass negative

Department

Photographs

Credit line

Gilman Collection, Gift of The Howard Gilman Foundation, 2005