Cleveland Museum of Art

Southern Portion of the Rock-cut Temple of Hathor, Abu Simbel

Maxime Du Camp

Date: 1850
Medium: salted paper print from calotype negative, Blanquart-Évrard process
Culture: France, 19th century
Department: Photography
Institution: Cleveland Museum of Art

Du Camp was the first photographer to depict the marvels of ancient Egypt. In 1849 a scholarly association commissioned the young writer to document Egyptian monuments and their hieroglyphics. He learned to photograph shortly before embarking for Egypt in the company of the young novelist Gustave Flaubert. In 1852 Du Camp published an album of photographs of Egypt, Nubia, Palestine, and Syria, which brought him widespread recognition. Just as Du Camp followed in the footsteps of earlier painters and scholars, later photographers like Beato often echoed his choices of subject matter.

View at Cleveland Museum of Art ↗

The authoritative record is held by Cleveland Museum of Art. LinkedCulture surfaces this object and its connections; it does not alter institutional metadata.