Louksor (Thèbes), Vue Générale des Ruines
1851–52
Medium
Salted paper print from paper negative
Dimensions
Image: 23.6 x 30.5 cm (9 5/16 x 12 in.) Mount: 40.2 x 51.8 cm (15 13/16 x 20 3/8 in.)
Classification
Photographs
Department
Photographs
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
Gilman Collection, Purchase, The Horace W. Goldsmith Foundation Gift, through Joyce and Robert Menschel, 2005
Accession Number
2005.100.940
Tags
Art Historical Context
Félix Teynard’s “Louksor (Thèbes), Vue Générale des Ruines” captures a sweeping view of the ancient temple complex at Luxor, Egypt, in 1851–52. Working as both engineer and photographer, Teynard traveled along the Nile to document Egypt’s monuments at a moment when European fascination with ancient civilizations was at its height. His image presents the massive columns and fragmented walls as enduring witnesses to a vanished world, inviting viewers to contemplate the passage of time. The photograph is a salted paper print made from a paper negative, an early process prized for its soft tonal ...
About the Artist
Félix Teynard · 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...