Jérusalem, Saint-Sépulcre, Face Ouest, Rue du Patriarche

Art Historical Context

In 1854, French photographer Auguste Salzmann captured western facade of Jerusalem's Church of the Holyulchre along the Rue du Patriarche in this salted paper print from a paper. Produced by the Imprimerie photographique deanquart-Évrard in Lille, the image (32.4 × 23.8 cm) exemplifies early calotype photography, where a paper negative was contact-printed onto salted paper for a soft, textured tonal range. This medium, pioneered in the 1840s, allowed for architectural documentation but required stable conditions, making Salzmann's on-site work in the Holy Land remarkable. Salzmann's photograph holds historical significance as one of the earliest systematic visual records of Jerusalem's sacred sites, created during a pioneering expedition amid growing European interest in biblical archaeology. The Church of the Holy Sepulchre, venerated as the tomb of Christ, features prominently, its ancient stonework and narrow street conveying the site's layered history—from Crusader-era reconstructions to Ottoman-era bustle. Today, housed in the Metropolitan Museum of Art's Gilman Collection, this print invites visitors to ponder photography's power to preserve vanishing urban textures, bridging 19th-century exploration with timeless spiritual heritage.

About the Artist

Auguste Salzmann|Imprimerie photographique de Blanquart-Évrard, à Lille · 1824–1872

Born 15 april 1824. Salzmann travelled to Palestine in 1850 to 1851 as a draughtsman for a French expedition to the East. Salzmann returned to Paris, France in 1851 and learned photography which he used as an aid to his archaeological research. In 1853 Salzmann was commissioned by the Ministry of Public Instruction to visit Egypt, Syria, Palestine, and the islands of the Archipelago to photograph ...