Mosquée et Tombeau des Ayoubites
Maxime Du Camp
French, 1822–1894
1837-1852
A calotype photograph by Maxime Du Camp that records the Ayoubite mosque and tomb, made to document and share the appearance of this historic Islamic monument.
The soft, silvery grain and an expansive, empty sky make the domes and slender minarets read as solitary silhouettes rising from a barren foreground, giving the scene a quiet, archaeological stillness.
An early example of travel and architectural photography, this calotype helped introduce reproducible images of Middle Eastern monuments to European audiences and advance visual archaeology in the nineteenth century.
Medium
Calotype, printed 1852
Dimensions
5 7/8 × 8 1/4" (15.1 × 21.0 cm)
Classification
Department
Credit
Gift of Warner Communications, Inc.
Accession
844.1978
Palette
Exhibitions
