Vue générale du Kaire, prise de la Mosquée Tegloun 1849 - 1850

This albumen silver print of Cairo, taken from the Mosque of Taghlun, was made by Maxime Du Camp in the mid-19th century. The photograph offers a panoramic view of Cairo's dense urban landscape. Taken from an elevated vantage point, it reveals a sprawling cityscape dominated by tightly packed buildings and punctuated by the towering minarets of mosques. This image was produced during a period of increasing European interest in, and colonial expansion into, the Middle East. Du Camp’s choice of the Mosque of Taghlun as his vantage point is interesting; it might be seen to represent a moment of cultural exchange or perhaps even a symbolic gesture of observing the city from a point of religious significance. To understand this photograph, we can research the history of European travel and photography in the Middle East, the colonial context of the time, and the visual codes used to represent non-Western cultures. In doing so, we can see how art is always contingent on the social and institutional context in which it was made.