Ismail Pacha and Attendants 1855

Roger Fenton's "Ismail Pacha and Attendants" (1855) is a striking photographic portrait of a high-ranking Ottoman military figure, Ismail Pasha, seated on a bale of hay, flanked by two attendants. The photograph is a product of Fenton's renowned documentation of the Crimean War and offers insight into the social hierarchy of the Ottoman Empire. The sharp detail and composition of the image, typical of Fenton's work, capture the formality of the occasion and the complex political climate of the time. "Ismail Pacha and Attendants" is a notable example of 19th-century photographic portraiture and provides a glimpse into the military and cultural landscape of the Crimean War era.