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Jérusalem, Vallée de Josaphat, Tombeau de St. Jacques

1854
Not on view
Ridiculed by fellow scholars for contending that many architectural fragments examined on an 1850 expedition to Jerusalem dated from the period of David and Solomon, archaeologist Félicien Caignart de Saulcy was further accused of having provided fanciful and inaccurate site drawings to support his thesis. Salzmann, an artist and archaeologist, entered this scholarly fray in late 1853, setting off for Jerusalem to study and photograph the disputed monuments; after four months' work, he returned to Paris with nearly 175 negatives, which he published as Jérusalem: Étude et reproduction photographique des monuments de la ville sainte depuis l'époque judaïque jusqu'à nos jours (1856). This view shows one of the three ancient tombs dating from the second to first century B.C. cut into bedrock on the eastern slope of the Kidron valley, also called the "Valley of Josaphat," near the Mount of Olives. The conclusive power of Salzmann's photographs was self-evident, and De Saulcy declared himself vindicated by the sun itself, "a most able draftsman, in truth, and one whose good faith would be difficult to question."

Artwork Details

Object Information
  • Title: Jérusalem, Vallée de Josaphat, Tombeau de St. Jacques
  • Artist: Auguste Salzmann (French, 1824–1872)
  • Printer: Imprimerie photographique de Blanquart-Évrard, à Lille (French, active 1851–55)
  • Date: 1854
  • Medium: Salted paper print from paper negative
  • Dimensions: Image: 23.3 x 31.7 cm (9 3/16 x 12 1/2 in.)
    Mount: 44.6 x 59.7 cm (17 9/16 x 23 1/2 in.)
  • Classification: Photographs
  • Credit Line: Gilman Collection, Gift of The Howard Gilman Foundation, 2005
  • Object Number: 2005.100.373.45
  • Curatorial Department: Photographs

More Artwork

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Jerusalem, Etude et reproduction photographique des monuments de la ville sainte depuis l' époque judaique jusqu'à nos jours 1856, Auguste Salzmann French, Salted paper prints from paper negatives
Jerusalem, Etude et reproduction photographique des monuments de la ville sainte depuis l' époque judaique jusqu'à nos jours 1856
Auguste Salzmann
Imprimerie photographique de Blanquart-Évrard, à Lille
1854, printed 1856
Mémoire sur la nature et l'âge respectif des divers appareils de maçonnerie employés dans l'enceinte extérieure du Harem-Ech-Chérif de Jérusalem
Multiple artists/makers
1860s
Jérusalem, Saint Sépulcre, Vue générale de la Chapelle du Calvaire, Auguste Salzmann French, Salted paper print from paper negative
Jérusalem, Saint Sépulcre, Vue générale de la Chapelle du Calvaire
Auguste Salzmann
Imprimerie photographique de Blanquart-Évrard, à Lille
1854
Jérusalem, Saint Sépulcre, abside, Auguste Salzmann French, Salted paper print from paper negative
Jérusalem, Saint Sépulcre, abside
Auguste Salzmann
Imprimerie photographique de Blanquart-Évrard, à Lille
1854
Jérusalem, croix en argent ciselé, donnée par Louis XIII à l'Eglise du Saint Sépulcre, Auguste Salzmann French, Salted paper prints from paper negative
Jérusalem, croix en argent ciselé, donnée par Louis XIII à l'Eglise du Saint Sépulcre
Auguste Salzmann
Imprimerie photographique de Blanquart-Évrard, à Lille
1854

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