Untitled (colonnade in the mosque of Mohammed Ali) c. 1880

Curator: This is Félix Bonfils' photograph of the colonnade in the Mosque of Mohammed Ali. It’s an albumen print from the 19th century, part of our Harvard Art Museums collection. Editor: Immediately, I feel this overwhelming sense of faded grandeur. The light, the repetitive arches... It's like stepping back in time, yet there's a hint of melancholy. Curator: Bonfils was a key figure in early Middle Eastern photography. His work catered to European Orientalist fantasies, shaping perceptions of the region. Editor: You know, those perfectly aligned columns almost seem to vibrate, like echoes of prayers bouncing off the stone. It's both beautiful and a little unsettling. Curator: Indeed. And the framing emphasizes the architecture, sidelining the human element, reinforcing a colonial gaze. Editor: Well, despite that, there's something undeniably spiritual captured here, a yearning perhaps. It makes you think about what remains, what changes. Curator: Precisely. It reminds us how images can be both documents and projections. Editor: A beautiful ruin, in its own way. I'm glad to have seen it.