Abou-Sembil, Petit Spéos - Partie Gauche de la Façade
1851–52, printed 1853–54
Medium
Salted paper print from paper negative
Dimensions
23.3 x 30.5 cm. (9 3/16 x 12 in.)
Classification
Photographs
Department
Photographs
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
Purchase, Lila Acheson Wallace Gift, 1976
Accession Number
1976.607.104
Tags
Art Historical Context
Step into the sun-baked sands of ancient Nubia with Félix Teynard's *Abou-Sembil, Petit Spéos -ie Gauche de laçade* (1851–52, printed 1853–), a salted paper print capturing the majestic left facade of the Smaller Temple at Abu Simbel Commissioned through the Imprimerie Photographique de. de Fonteny et, this 23.3 x 30.5 cm photograph freezes the colossal rock-cut sculptures of Queen Nefertari and goddesses, guardians of the temple built by Ramses II around 1264–1244 BCE to honor his beloved wife and Hathor. Teynard, a pioneering French photographer, joined the wave of 19th-century explorers do...
About the Artist
Félix Teynard|Imprimerie Photographique de H. de Fonteny et Cie · 1817–1892
**Félix Teynard (1817–1892)** was a pioneering French photographer whose work captured the ancient wonders of Egypt and Nubia with unprecedented precision and artistry. Born on January 14, 1817, in Saint-Flour, he trained as a civil engineer in Grenoble, a hub of Egyptology that likely sparked his fascination with ancient architecture. Little is documented about his early life or formal photograph...