Thebes, The Colossi of Memnon

Description

As more photographers shot the same monuments,depictions became formulaic.Numerous photographers produced almost identical images,as demonstrated in these two views of the Colossi of Memnon. Shot from different sides but about the same distance, both images employ an angled view and use Egyptian servants and guides as local color and indexes of scale. Captions and artists’ signatures were often written in reverse on the negatives so that they would automatically become part of each print. Sometimes, as in the Beato image, the artist or his assistant was care less.

Provenance

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Thebes, The Colossi of Memnon

Henri Béchard

1870s

Accession Number

2006.119

Medium

albumen print from wet collodion negative

Dimensions

Image: 36 x 26.9 cm (14 3/16 x 10 9/16 in.); Paper: 36 x 26.9 cm (14 3/16 x 10 9/16 in.); Matted: 50.8 x 61 cm (20 x 24 in.)

Classification

Photograph

Museum

The Cleveland Museum of Art

Cleveland, United States

Credit Line

Mr. and Mrs. Richard W. Whitehill Art Purchase Endowment Fund