Jérusalem, Via Dolorosa, Reste antique 1854 - 1859

This photograph, *Jérusalem, Via Dolorosa, Reste antique*, was captured by Auguste Salzmann using the calotype process, a technique which imbues the image with a soft, almost dreamlike quality. Salzmann, a French archeologist and photographer, was commissioned to photograph the Holy Land. This commission occurred amidst a growing European interest in documenting and possessing images of the 'Orient' and Biblical history. Salzmann's work, while seemingly objective, was inevitably shaped by the colonial gaze of the time. The photograph invites us to reflect on how the depiction of sacred spaces is never neutral. Here, ruins are presented as evidence of the past, seemingly frozen in time, yet they are interwoven with the complex social and political realities of the present. What stories do these stones conceal, and whose narratives are prioritized in their telling? What do you feel when observing this landscape? This image serves as a reminder of the layers of history, faith, and power embedded within a single place.