Vue générale de Bethany - General view of Bethany
ca. 1880
Medium
Albumen silver print
Classification
Photographs
Department
Photographs
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
Gift of Mrs. John L. Swayze, 1982
Accession Number
1982.1153.21
Tags
Art Historical Context
**Vue générale de Bethany (General View of Bethany)**, captured around 1880 by French photographer Félix Bonfils offers a panoramic glimpse into the ancient Palestinian town of Bethany, nestled near Jerusalem. Bonfils, a pioneering figure in 19th-century travel photography, documented the Holy Land extensively through his Beirut-based studio, Maison Bonfils, which he co-founded with his Lydie. Thisen silver print preserves a moment in time when biblical sites like Bethany—famed in scripture as the home of Mary, Martha, and Lazarus—retained much of their timeless, rustic character amid olive gr...