Palestine. Jérusalem. Partie occidentale des Murailles 1850

This photograph of the western walls of Jerusalem was made by Maxime Du Camp, a French writer and photographer, in the mid-nineteenth century. The image is part of a project commissioned by the French government to document ancient sites in the Middle East. Think about this for a moment: a European colonial power sending photographers to capture images of a land it seeks to dominate culturally and politically. Du Camp's photograph presents Jerusalem as an exoticized and timeless landscape. Absent are the traces of contemporary life or the local population. The imposing walls and minaret evoke a sense of history and religious significance, while the stark, monochrome tones contribute to an atmosphere of mystery and otherness. To truly understand Du Camp's work, we must look at the history of French Orientalism. It's also vital to examine photographic archives. It's through this process of historical contextualization that we can appreciate the social and political forces at play in the creation and interpretation of this image.