Louqsor, Vue Générale des Ruines
Maxime Du Camp
French, 1822–1894
1849-51
A wide salted-paper photograph made from a paper negative by Maxime Du Camp that aims to record and share a general view of the ruins at Luxor for a European audience.
The panorama opens across a spare sandy foreground to a line of monumental columns and scattered masonry under a pale, empty sky, the soft focus and muted tones lending the ruins a calm, documentary stillness.
As an early example of travel and archaeological photography, it demonstrates how mid‑19th‑century paper negatives and salted‑paper prints were used to document ancient sites and shape European perceptions of Egypt.
Medium
Salted paper print from a paper negative
Dimensions
3 9/16 × 8 5/16" (9.0 × 21.1 cm)
Classification
Department
Credit
Gift of Warner Communications, Inc.
Accession
484.1981
Palette
Exhibitions
