Colosse oriental du Spéos de Phré, à Abousembil (Portrait de Rhamsès-le-grand) 1850

Editor: This photograph, taken by Maxime Du Camp in 1850, captures a colossal sculpture in Abu Simbel, identified as a portrait of Ramses the Great. There's a sense of grandeur, but also of isolation and being weathered by time. What's your interpretation of this work, considering its historical context? Curator: I see this not just as a record of an ancient monument, but as an assertion of power frozen in time and then reframed by colonial encounter. Du Camp’s photograph becomes a document within the larger history of European fascination with and appropriation of Egyptian history and imagery. How does it feel to view this image knowing its relationship to larger dynamics of cultural dominance? Editor: It’s a little unsettling, honestly. The statue represents ancient power, but the photograph also signifies a later form of power—the power to capture, document, and essentially take possession of this image of Ramses. It makes me wonder who this photograph was really *for.* Curator: Precisely. Think about the audiences who would have seen this photograph when it was first produced. It would circulate among European intellectuals, reinforcing Eurocentric perspectives on ancient cultures. This image, like many others from the colonial period, operates as both a window into the past and a mirror reflecting the biases of its present. Do you see any evidence of this mirrored bias in the framing or composition? Editor: I guess focusing solely on the monumental aspects without much context makes it seem timeless and almost disconnected from the people who built it. The humanity almost gets lost. I hadn't thought about how much photography from this era participated in a larger narrative of Western dominance. Curator: And by thinking critically about these visual choices, we can recognize the role of the photographer, not as a neutral observer, but as an active participant in shaping our understanding of history. Editor: Thanks, this gives me a lot to think about when looking at historical photographs.