Vue prise du Couvent des Dominicains, Chalais (Isère), France

Félix Thiollier brought to landscape photography the emotional power and mystery of the Barbizon and naturalist painters whom he collected and befriended. This dramatic view provides a deep vista more commonly found in photographs of the Western United States at the time. Underlying it, however, are a geometric structure of overlapping triangles, curved top border, and atmospheric clouds and mist that relate directly to precedents in painting.