Thebes. Médinet-Habou. Partie orientale du Péristyle du Palais de Ramsès-Méiamoun

Maxime Du Camp|Imprimerie photographique de Blanquart-Évrard, à Lille

May 8, 1850 · Salted paper print (Blanquart-Évrard process) from paper negative · Photographs

Perched among the ruins at Medinet Habu, Du Camp’s frequent model, the Nubian sailor called Hadji-Ishmael, is almost hidden within the immensity of the temple architecture. Indeed, the massive scale of the mortuary temples Du Camp encountered in Egypt led him to believe they were palaces. Suitably centered for a modern-day Instagram post, the carefully cropped published photograph is somewhat less arresting than the corresponding proof print (2005.100.376.84), where the broad band of shadow at the bottom edge adds to the overall drama of dark and light.

Artist

Maxime Du Camp|Imprimerie photographique de Blanquart-Évrard, à Lille

Date

May 8, 1850

Medium

Salted paper print (Blanquart-Évrard process) from paper negative

Department

Photographs

Credit line

Robert O. Dougan Collection, Gift of Warner Communications Inc., 1981