Angle of North Taku Fort at Which the French Entered, August 21, 1860

Felice Beato

National Gallery of Art

The image shows a decaying adobe structure viewed from ground level. The horizon is not clearly visible due to the dominant wall running horizontally across the image. The wall tilts slightly backward as it extends into the distance. The top of the wall is uneven, with some areas crumbling and supported by wooden ladders. Spiky wooden stakes are placed in the ground, forming a line in the lower part of the image. The color palette is monochromatic with varying shades of sepia, giving the scene a vintage quality. The background sky is a pale tone, contrasting with the rugged texture of the wall and ground in the foreground.