Karnak (Thèbes), Palais - Salle Hypostyle - Colonnade Centrale Vue du Point J
1851–52, printed 1853–54
Medium
Salted paper print from paper negative
Dimensions
30.2 x 24.4 cm. (11 7/8 x 9 5/8 in.)
Classification
Photographs
Department
Photographs
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
Purchase, Lila Acheson Wallace Gift, 1976
Accession Number
1976.607.53
Tags
Art Historical Context
In the grand Hypost Hall of Karnak Temple ancient Thebes (modern Luxor, Egypt), Félix Tey captured this stunning view of the central colonnade around 1851–52. Titled *Karnak (Thèbes), Palais - Salle Hypostyle - Colonn Centrale Vue du Point J this salted paper print from a paper negative reveals the awe-inspiring scale of the ruins, with towering papyriform columns stretching into shadow. Printed by Imprimerie Photographique de H. de Fonteny et Cie in 1853–54, it measures a modest 30.2 x 24.4 cm, yet evokes the monumental architecture built by pharaohs like Ramses II over millennia. Teynard, a...
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...