Gezicht op een landschap met zeven mannen, aangeduid als Jacob's Well c. 1850 - 1865

This landscape with seven men, titled "Jacob's Well, near Shechem", was captured by Francis Frith, a British photographer, in the 19th century. Frith was part of a wave of photographers who saw the Middle East through a colonial lens. In his role as a commercial photographer, he aimed to capture images that appealed to European tastes and confirmed existing cultural biases. The composition, with its romanticized figures posed against an exotic backdrop, speaks to the Orientalist fascination prevalent at the time. The biblical reference in the title also hints at the religious underpinnings of this fascination, catering to a Western audience eager to visualize biblical narratives. Frith's commercial success relied on this social context. To fully understand Frith’s motivations, we can turn to travel literature, missionary records, and colonial archives. These resources help us to unpack the complex cultural dynamics that shaped both the production and reception of images like this one.