Fontana del Tritone, Roma, Winter 1855 Robert... Lot 39

Fontana del Tritone, Roma, Winter 1855 Robert Turnbull Macpherson (1814-1872) Large albuminized salt paper print from an albumen on glass negative, 28,2x36,5 cm, embossed stamp on mount, with negative reference number “40” in pencil, by the artist “Macpherson apparently did not complete his medical studies, and subsequently studied art at the Royal Scottish Academy in Edinburgh. In 1840 he left Scotland for Rome, Italy. In addition to painting, he worked there as an art dealer. His most notable acquisition was a large, dark panel which he purchased in 1846. After cleaning the piece, it was identified as The Entombment of Christ, an unfinished work by Michelangelo. Macpherson smuggled the painting out of Rome, and in 1868 sold it to the National Gallery in London for £2000. In 1851, having failed to achieve notice as a painter, Macpherson turned to the new art of photography....” (Wikipedia)