Jérusalem. Tombeaux de St Jacques et de Zacharie 1860

Louis de Clercq made this photograph of the tombs of St. James and Zachariah in Jerusalem using the calotype process sometime in the mid-19th century. De Clercq was part of a wave of European artists and scholars who traveled to the Middle East, particularly Palestine, in the 19th century. This image reveals much about the way the West looked at the East during that era. Photography was still relatively new, and these images offered Europeans a glimpse into a world largely unknown to them, and photography, in its claim to objectivity, served as a tool for European powers to document and thus assert control over these lands. The composition is stark, almost clinical, emphasizing the archaeological and historical importance of the site, while also subtly reinforcing a narrative of Western discovery and possession. What we see, and how we interpret it, is deeply shaped by the historical, social, and institutional contexts in which the art was produced and consumed. To fully understand this image, we would need to delve into the history of photography, orientalism, and French foreign policy during the period.