The Caryatides

Dimetrius Constantine

National Gallery of Art

The remains of a rectangular porch-like portico are photographed in tones of ash-brown and black in this horizontal albumen print. The roof of the portico is held up by six marble columns carved into the shape of women wearing robes that fall in long, vertical folds. The women all face forward, and some of their features are weathered. All are missing their arms. The portico and structure behind it are constructed with massive, squared blocks. A man wearing a suit and a bowler hat sits drawing in the corner where the portico meets the bulk of the building, near the lower right corner of the photograph. Fragments of reliefs and other architectural ornaments are lined up behind and next to him. A few scrubby plants grow on the dirt ground, and the sky above is a washed out white. White text angled up across the lower right corner reads, “D. CONSTANTIN.”