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Terpak (Frances) Photographs of Romanesque Architecture and Sculpture in Southern France and Northern Spain
2010.P.1
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Contributing Institution:
Special Collections
Title: Frances Terpak photographs of Romanesque architecture and sculpture in southern France and northern Spain
Creator:
Terpak, Frances, 1948-
Identifier/Call Number: 2010.P.1
Physical Description:
7.9 Linear Feet
(18 boxes)
Date (inclusive): 1977-1989, undated
Abstract: Photographs and related research material documenting Romanesque sculpture and architecture in southern France and northern
Spain comprise this collection. Frances Terpak photographed the majority of the images and compiled the other materials in
the course of research for her dissertation, "The Romanesque Architecture and Sculpture of Saint Caprais in Agen" (Yale University,
1982), and for subsequent scholarly articles. Over 150 rolls of 35mm negatives shot by Terpak and over 2000 images printed
from these negatives form the bulk of the collection. Also included are a small number of photographs acquired from institutional
and commercial sources, including Bildarchiv Foto Marburg, Guntram Koch, Photo Zodiaque and Archivo Moreno. Related research
materials, such as notes, keyed architectural plans, and shot lists, complement the photographs.
Physical Location: Request access to the physical materials described in this inventory through the
catalog record for this collection. Click here for the
access policy .
Language of Material: Collection material is in English.
Frances Terpak studied art history at the Pennsylvania State University (BA 1970, MA 1972). A student of Jan van der Meulen,
she wrote her master's thesis on the iconography of the Incarnation portal on the west facade of Chartres Cathedral. Terpak
continued her study of medieval art at Yale University, completing her dissertation, "The Romanesque Architecture and Sculpture
of Saint Caprais in Agen," in 1982. During this period of her studies, Terpak also proved to be an extremely skilled photographer.
Following in the scholar-photographer role of her mentor Meulen, Terpak understood precisely what an art historian needed
to see in a documentary study photograph — the framing, shot angle, focus, depth of field and lighting — and unlike most art
historians, she had the photographic skill to actually capture that image.
After completing her degree, Terpak pursued this intersection of photography and the study of art history. In 1983, she joined
the staff of the Getty Center for the History of Art and the Humanities (now the Getty Research Institute), which was building
one of the largest photographic archives for research in the fine arts in the United States. Terpak was brought in to oversee
the expansion of its holdings into medieval art and architecture, and under her guidance this section grew to over a quarter
million photographic prints. At the same time, she continued to publish and lecture on French Romanesque sculpture. Terpak
is currently curator of photographs at the Getty Research Institute.
Frances Terpak photographs of Romanesque architecture and sculpture in southern France and northern Spain, 1977-1989, undated,
The Getty Research Institute, Los Angeles, Accession no. 2010.P.1
http://hdl.handle.net/10020/cifa2010p1
Contact
Library Reproductions and Permissions .
Open for use by qualified researchers.
Arranged by type of material.
Gift of Frances Terpak. Acquired in 2010.
The collection was rehoused by the Registrar's office upon receipt. In 2015 Ann Harrison further processed the collection
and created the finding aid.
Scope and Content of Collection
Photographs and related research material documenting Romanesque sculpture and architecture in southern France and northern
Spain comprise this collection. Frances Terpak photographed the majority of the images and compiled the other materials in
the course of research for her dissertation, "The Romanesque Architecture and Sculpture of Saint Caprais in Agen" (Yale University,
1982), and for subsequent scholarly articles. Over 150 rolls of 35mm negatives shot by Terpak and over 2000 images printed
from these negatives form the bulk of the collection. Also included are a small number of photographs acquired from institutional
and commercial sources, including Bildarchiv Foto Marburg, Guntram Koch, Photo Zodiaque and Archivo Moreno. Related research
materials, such as notes, keyed architectural plans, and shot lists, complement the photographs.
The importance of this collection lies in the choice of sites documented. While some major monuments such as the cloister
at Moissac are represented, the majority of the images depict Romanesque sites that are not well-known or published. Even
for famous sites, however, this collection includes aspects of monuments that are not otherwise well-published, such as all
the sculptural surfaces of the altar table at Saint Sernin, Toulouse. Many of the images are also keyed to plans of the structure
locating the capital or other sculptural detail.
The bulk of the photographic prints in the collection are black-and-white in a 5 x 7 inch format and were printed from negatives
made by Terpak. These prints, however, represent only a portion of Terpak's photographic documentation. French sites represented
in the negatives, but not in the prints include: Angoulême, Arces-sur-Gironde, Beurlay, Blasimon, Bouglon-Vieux, Bouloc, Cahors,
Cambes, Cessac, Colombiers, Doulezon, Espalion, Frespech, Gourvillette, Goutz, Guîtres, Hautefage, Lacour, Lavaur, Lavergne,
Le Dorat, Limoges, Listrac, Macqueville, Marcilhac, Marcoux, Monsempron-Libos, Montbron, Moulidars, Mourens, Oradour-Fanais,
Pérignac, Pujols, Romestaing, Saint-André-de-Cubzac, Saint-Benoît-sur Loire, Saint-Émilion, Saint-Jean-de Côle, Saint-Lizier,
Saint-Martin-Curton, Saint-Martin-de-Beauville, Sainte-Colombe-en-Bruilhois, Sainte-Radegonde, Salabes, Sauveterre, Tarbes,
and Villemartin. For Spain, negatives for the following sites are not printed: Frómista, Pineda de la Sierra, Rebolledo de
la Torre, Santillana del Mar, Santa Cruz de la Séros, Silos, Colombres, the Archaeological Museum in Madrid and the Ctatlan
Museum in Barcelona.
Terpak photographed the majority of the sites in France in 1977 and 1978. The photographs of sites in Spain were taken in
1988, with the exception of the site of Loarre, which was shot in 1977.
Subjects and Indexing Terms
Sculpture, Medieval
Sculpture, Romanesque -- Spain
Architecture, Romanesque -- France
Architecture, Romanesque -- Spain
Negatives (photographic) -- 20th century
Architecture, Medieval
Gelatin silver prints -- 20th century
Sculpture, Romanesque -- France