Baalbek

Joseph-Philibert Girault de Prangey

1843–44 · Daguerreotype · Photographs

Ruled by the Romans from the first century B.C. and known then as Heliopolis, Baalbek bears many traces of its ancient past, among them the Corinthian capitals of a ruined mosque (seen in an image displayed nearby) and the remnants of three temples considered to represent the ultimate in Roman Imperial architecture. In this panoramic view, Girault photographed a subject also favored by later artists, a column leaning against the exterior of the well-preserved Temple of Bacchus; Girault’s notes refer to it as the "petit temple."

Artist

Joseph-Philibert Girault de Prangey

Date

1843–44

Medium

Daguerreotype

Department

Photographs

Credit line

Purchase, Mr. and Mrs. John A. Moran Gift, in memory of Louise Chisholm Moran, Joyce F. Menschel Gift, Joseph Pulitzer Bequest, 2016 Benefit Fund, and Gift of Dr. Mortimer D. Sackler, Theresa Sackler and Family, 2016 (2016.611)