Panorama de Jaffa

Art Historical Context

In the late 19th century, photographer Félix Bonfils the vibrant port city of Jaffa—now part of modern Tel Aviv—in his striking *Panorama de Jaffa* (ca. 1880). This albumen silver print a hallmark of 19th-century photography, egg-white-coated paper to produce rich tonal depth and exquisite detail, allowing viewers to themselves in the sprawling skyline. Bonfils, who established a renowned studio in Beirut with his wife Lydie, specialized in documenting the Levant and Holy Land, bringing distant landscapes to European audiences through meticulously composed vistas. Jaffa, a bustling Ottoman-er...