Reliëfs op de oude tempel van Karnak 1862 - 1895

This photograph of the reliefs on the old temple of Karnak was taken by Antonio Beato sometime between 1860 and 1906. Beato was one of a number of European photographers drawn to Egypt by a burgeoning tourist industry and a fascination with ancient civilizations. Consider for a moment what it meant for a European man to travel to Egypt, to photograph, and in a sense, to claim a cultural history not his own. While Beato’s photograph appears documentary, the image is imbued with the power dynamics of colonialism. The temple, a site of immense cultural and spiritual significance, is reduced to a picturesque object, stripped of its original context and presented for Western consumption. What stories are lost in this translation, and whose perspectives are silenced? The photograph invites us to reflect on the complex interplay between seeing and knowing, between history and representation. It encourages us to consider who gets to tell the story and whose voices are amplified or erased in the process.