Interieur van het heilige graf in de rotunda van de Heilig Grafkerk in Jeruzalem 1867 - 1885

This is Félix Bonfils’s photograph, "Interior of the Holy Sepulchre in the Rotunda of the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem." Bonfils, who lived from 1831 to 1885, was part of a wave of 19th-century European photographers who ventured to the Middle East, drawn by the region's biblical history and exotic landscapes. This image captures the interior of what is believed to be the tomb of Jesus, and it's a fascinating artifact of its time, revealing the intersection of faith, colonialism, and the burgeoning technology of photography. Bonfils's gaze, while artistic, was inevitably influenced by the colonial attitudes prevalent in Europe at the time. The photograph, in its own way, participates in constructing a certain Western view of the Holy Land, framing it for European consumption. What does it mean to frame the most sacred space in Christendom? What does it mean to travel there, photograph it, own it, and bring it back? The photograph creates a window into the past, inviting reflection on the complex dynamics between the photographer, the subject, and the viewer.