Jérusalem, Saint-Sépulcre, Détails des chapiteaux de la porte principale

Art Historical Context

In 1854, French photographer Auguste Salzmann captured details of the carved capitals adorning the main entrance to the Church of the Holy Sepul in Jerusalem, one of Christianity's holiest sites. Titled *Jérusalem, Saint-Sépcre, Détails chapiteaux de la principale*, this salted paper print from a paper negative exemplifies early calotype photography. Produced by the renowned Imprimerie photographique deanquart-Évrard in Lille, the image measures 32.9 x 23.2 cm and reveals the rich Crusader-era stonework, blending Byzantine, Romanesque, and Islamic influences in a testament to the site's layered history. Salzmann's work was part of a pioneering expedition to document Jerusalem's sacred architecture amid growing 19th-century European fascination with the Holy Land, fueled by biblical scholarship and Orientalism. As one of the first photographers to systematically record these monuments, his images preserved fragile details threatened by decay and conflict, offering invaluable records for historians and archaeologists. This print's technical mastery—achieved through Louis-Désiré Blanquart-Évrard's refined printing process—highlights photography's emergence as a tool for precise architectural study. Housed in the Metropolitan Museum of Art's Gilman Collection, it invites visitors to marvel at how light and chemistry unveiled the sacred past.

About the Artist

Auguste Salzmann|Imprimerie photographique de Blanquart-Évrard, à Lille · 1824–1872

Born 15 april 1824. Salzmann travelled to Palestine in 1850 to 1851 as a draughtsman for a French expedition to the East. Salzmann returned to Paris, France in 1851 and learned photography which he used as an aid to his archaeological research. In 1853 Salzmann was commissioned by the Ministry of Public Instruction to visit Egypt, Syria, Palestine, and the islands of the Archipelago to photograph ...