Bethlehem, with the Church of the Nativity
1857
Medium
Albumen print, pl. 9 from the album "Egypt and Palestine, Volume I" (1858)
Dimensions
Image/paper: 15.9 × 22.5 cm (6 5/16 × 8 7/8 in.); Album page: 29.3 × 42.6 cm (11 9/16 × 16 13/16 in.)
Classification
photograph
Department
Photography and Media
Museum
Art Institute of Chicago
Accession Number
157941
Art Historical Context
Step into the sun-drenched streets of 19th-century Bethlehem with Frith's *Bethlehem, with the Church the Nativity* (1857), an albumen print from landmark album *Egypt and Palestine Volume I* (1858). Captured during Frith's pioneering expeditions to the Middle East, this image showcases the iconic Church of the Nativity—one of Christianity's holiest sites, traditionally marking Jesus's birthplace. The modest 15.9 × 22.5 cm print, mounted on a larger album page, invites viewers to trace the ancient stone architecture amid everyday life, blending sacred history with the vibrancy of the Holy Land...
About the Artist
Francis Frith · 1822–1898
Francis Frith (1822–1898) was born on 7 October 1822 in Chesterfield, Derbyshire, into a prosperous Quaker merchant family as the second child and only son of Francis Frith Sr. and Alice Walker. Educated at Quaker schools including Ackworth and Camp Hill in Birmingham from around 1828 to 1838, he apprenticed in the cutlery trade before establishing himself as a wholesale grocer in Liverpool, suppl...