Jérusalem, Escalier arabe de Sainte-Marie-la-Grande, Détails de la partie supérieure 1854 - 1859

Auguste Salzmann made this photograph, Jérusalem, Escalier arabe de Sainte-Marie-la-Grande, Détails de la partie supérieure, using paper and salted paper print, sometime in the mid-nineteenth century. It depicts an architectural detail in Jerusalem. Salzmann was part of a wave of photographers who traveled to the Middle East in the 1850s. These photographers often framed their work within a colonialist context. The photograph’s visual codes, from the composition to the play of light and shadow, evoke a sense of historical grandeur. It was produced in France, at a time when the country was asserting its influence in the region through both military and cultural means. Salzmann’s photography can also be seen as participating in a broader Orientalist project. To understand this work better, we can consider the political and cultural context in which the photograph was made, as well as the institutions, such as the French state and the art market that supported its production and circulation. These contexts inform how we interpret and understand the photograph's meaning.