Gezicht op de citadel van Caïro, met op de voorgrond een begraafplaats 1888 - 1895

Jean Pascal Sébah made this photograph of the Citadel of Cairo, with a cemetery in the foreground, at the turn of the century. The work offers a fascinating insight into the complex relationship between the photographic arts, Western Imperialism, and local Egyptian culture. Sébah was one of a group of photographers working at the time, often of European extraction, who found a ready market for images of Egypt among Western tourists and colonial administrators. This picture presents a specific view of the city: the Citadel is a symbol of power, but the eye is drawn to the dense necropolis that dominates the foreground. What does it mean to frame the city of the living through the city of the dead? Photographs like this provided an important form of visual record, but one always needs to understand the institutional and social conditions under which they were made. The archives of institutions such as the French and British colonial offices, as well as travel journals, can often provide valuable context. Remember that art always reflects the conditions of its making.