Melrose Abbey before 1899

This photograph of Melrose Abbey was produced in 1844, at the dawn of photography. The pioneering process is even inscribed alongside the image as “from nature.” The image is evocative, as it is suggestive of the ruin. What does it mean to capture Melrose Abbey at this time? After the Reformation in Scotland, the Abbey was no longer a site of religious practice, and its partial destruction made it a potent symbol. Photography here is acting as a tool of preservation, but also participates in a contemporary cultural obsession with ruins and the romance of a lost past. The practice of photography also has an institutional history: the historical sketch on the opposing page references discussion in the Royal Society and the French Academy of Science. Early photography was a scientific endeavor as much as it was artistic. To understand this image better, we can research the journals mentioned here and the history of photographic societies. Considering the social and institutional context of art helps us understand its power.