Public collection via the Cleveland Museum of Art
AT-00013008Tomb of the Virgin, Jerusalem
About the Artwork
In 1854, Auguste Salzmann was commissioned by the French Ministry of Public Instruction to document the holy city of Jerusalem. His charge was to substantiate the controversial theories about dating ancient ruins proposed by his friend, Louis Félicien de Saulcy, a noted antiquarian. Unlike almost all other photographers documenting architecture in the 19th century, Salzmann relied on extreme close-up views. In this example, he eliminated most of the building, concentrating on the door of the tomb and its surrounding architectural elements. As a result, all indications of scale, terrain, placement, and context normally found in documentary photographs are absent, while the abstract textural and surface qualities of the tomb are emphasized.
Inscriptions
Written in negative: "89"; in pencil on verso: "4011"
Provenance
(Charles Isaacs Photographs, Inc., New York, NY) March 4, 1996: The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH
Data retrieved from the Cleveland Museum of Art on October 8, 2026. The museum may have updated its record since.
Quick Overview
- Artist
- Auguste Salzmann (French, 1824–1872)
- Date
- 1854
- Medium
- salted paper print, Blanquart-Évrard process, from waxed paper negative
- Dimensions
- Image: 22.7 x 32.8 cm (8 15/16 x 12 15/16 in.); Matted: 50.8 x 61 cm (20 x 24 in.)
- Type
- Photograph
- Classification
- Photograph
- Department
- Photography
- Credit line
- John L. Severance Fund
- Accession no.
- 1996.10
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Open-access museum record · AT-00013008
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