59. Plan et details, Château d’Alep

Art Historical Context

Joseph-Philibert Girault de Prangey created this striking lithograph in 1843 during his pioneering travels through the Middle East. A French artist and early photographer, he meticulously documented Islamic architecture, and this sheet presents both an overall plan and close-up details of Aleppo’s historic citadel. Produced just a few years after the invention of photography, the work reflects the era’s growing fascination with precise visual records of distant cultures. Printed as a lithograph on a generous sheet measuring roughly 22 by 16 inches, the image combines measured architectural drawing with an evocative sense of place. Girault de Prangey’s careful rendering of walls, towers, and ornamental elements helped introduce European audiences to the grandeur of Syrian heritage at a time when few had seen it firsthand. Acquired by the Metropolitan Museum in 2017, the print stands as an important bridge between traditional printmaking and the emerging photographic age, preserving both the structure and the spirit of one of the region’s most storied monuments.

About the Artist

Joseph-Philibert Girault de Prangey · 1804–1892

Joseph-Philibert Girault de Prangey (1804–1892), born in Langres, France, as the sole surviving child of Claude Joseph Girault and Barbe Philiberte Rosine Piétrequin, inherited the lordships of Genevrières and Prangey, adopting his full surname in 1825. After studies at Langres college and in Paris, where he earned baccalauréats in letters (1826) and law (1828), he pursued artistic training under ...