Jérusalem, Village de Siloam, Vue générale 1854 - 1859

Auguste Salzmann created this photograph, titled Jérusalem, Village de Siloam, Vue générale, using the calotype process, a technique that allowed for multiple prints, in the mid-19th century. Salzmann's work in Jerusalem needs to be understood in the context of 19th-century European Orientalism, which often exoticized and romanticized the "East." This photograph, with its focus on ancient architecture, participates in a colonial gaze, seeking to document and categorize a land considered foreign. How does the act of photographing a place change our relationship to it? Does it preserve or does it objectify? Yet, there is also an undeniable beauty in the play of light and shadow on the ancient stone. The emotional impact of seeing a place with such deep historical roots is palpable. It invites us to consider how photography can both perpetuate power dynamics and evoke a sense of shared human history.