Gezicht op de Hermonberg c. 1850 - 1865

This is Francis Frith's photograph, "Gezicht op de Hermonberg", made sometime between 1856 and 1860. Frith was among the first British photographers to travel to the Middle East, and here he captures Mount Hermon, a site revered across religious traditions. During this period, photography played a crucial role in shaping Western perceptions of the East, often reinforcing colonial narratives. Frith’s images, while technically impressive for their time, were also products of this gaze. They framed the landscape and its people through a lens that emphasized exoticism and difference, while subtly asserting Western dominance. Consider how Frith, as a Western European man, chose to represent this landscape, laden with religious and historical significance. How might his own cultural background and intentions have shaped this image? What stories are told—and not told—through this photograph? It's in these questions that we can reflect on the complex interplay between vision, power, and representation.