Jérusalem, Saint-Sépulcre, Entrée principale

Auguste Salzmann|Imprimerie photographique de Blanquart-Évrard, à Lille

1854 · Salted paper print from paper negative · Photographs

Unlike later tourist views produced by the Bonfils firm, for example, Salzmann’s photographs of the church avoid showing its present-day life. As a major pilgrimage center, the site would have seen streams of worshippers moving through the main portal pictured here. The closed door indicates that Salzmann set up his camera before the church opened, while the exposure time for paper negatives was so long that moving figures would not have been captured. Though the long exposure time may have been a technological limitation to some, Salzmann turned it to his advantage. Per his account, he sketched beside his camera until it was time to close the shutter. The resulting unobstructed view of the church’s diverse architectural elements facilitates in-depth examination.

Artist

Auguste Salzmann|Imprimerie photographique de Blanquart-Évrard, à Lille

Date

1854

Medium

Salted paper print from paper negative

Department

Photographs

Credit line

Gilman Collection, Gift of The Howard Gilman Foundation, 2005