Gezicht op een zuilengalerij in een moskee in Constantine, Algerije before 1893

This photographic print of a mosque in Constantine, Algeria, was made by Jules Gervais-Courtellemont, sometime before 1931. It is a relatively small image, presented within the pages of a bound book. Photography, though now utterly commonplace, was a very particular choice of medium at this time. As a mechanical process, it offered the promise of perfect objectivity, yet of course, photographs are always the product of choices: framing, exposure, and the perspective of the photographer. Courtellemont has given us a receding colonnade, columns marching into the distance. Consider the social context. This image was produced in the era of high colonialism. Photography allowed people to consume images of distant lands and cultures, without ever leaving home. In that sense, it can be understood as a form of material extraction, not so different from the natural resources also being taken from places like Algeria at this time. This image, and others like it, played a role in constructing the West’s understanding of the Islamic world.