Tickets
English
DonateMembership
Tickets

Medinet-Habu

1854
Not on view
From 1852 to 1855 Greene, the first photographer-archaeologist to work and travel in Egypt, concentrated his studies and excavations at Thebes and Deir el-Bahri. At Medinet-Habu (Thebes) he cleaned important inscriptions. This photograph represents a corner of a second courtyard of the temple and depicts the last eighteen lines of the inscription of the year 5 of the reign of the Ramesses III, recounting with effusive praise the king's victories over the peoples to the north.


Whether or not we can decipher the writing upon the wall, the message of Greene's picture is clear. In the penumbra behind the massive pylon is the story of a perished people preserved in stone. The velvet shadows of this eggplant-colored print make tangible the millennia between Ramesses' glory and that less distant moment when the young archaeologist contemplated the chronicle he had exposed.

Artwork Details

Object Information
  • Title: Medinet-Habu
  • Artist: John Beasley Greene (American, born France, Le Havre 1832–1856 Cairo, Egypt)
  • Date: 1854
  • Medium: Salted paper print from paper negative
  • Dimensions: 23.4 x 30.1 cm (9 3/16 x 11 7/8 in.)
  • Classification: Photographs
  • Credit Line: Purchase, The Howard Gilman Foundation Gift, 1989
  • Object Number: 1989.1063
  • Curatorial Department: Photographs

More Artwork

More Artwork
A slider containing 5 items.
Press the down key to skip to the last item.
[Excavations near the Sphinx], John Beasley Greene American, Salted paper print from paper negative
[Excavations near the Sphinx]
John Beasley Greene
1853
Powder Horn, Horn (cow), lead, American
Powder Horn
American
18th century
[Large Figures on the North Porch, Chartres Cathedral], Henri-Jean-Louis Le Secq French, Salted paper print from paper negative
[Large Figures on the North Porch, Chartres Cathedral]
Henri-Jean-Louis Le Secq
1852
[Constantine, Algeria], John Beasley Greene American, Salted paper print from paper negative
[Constantine, Algeria]
John Beasley Greene
1853–54
Figured bottle, Blown-molded glass, American
Figured bottle
American
1850–60

Related Content

Publications

Books, guides, and catalogues published by The Met.

Research Resources

The Met provides unparalleled resources for research and welcomes an international community of students and scholars. The Met's Open Access API is where creators and researchers can connect to the The Met collection. Open Access data and public domain images are available for unrestricted commercial and noncommercial use without permission or fee.

To request images under copyright and other restrictions, please use this Image Request form.

Feedback

We continue to research and examine historical and cultural context for objects in The Met collection. If you have comments or questions about this object record, please contact us using the form below. The Museum looks forward to receiving your comments.

Send feedback

Content Notice

The Metropolitan Museum of Art presents over 5,000 years of art from around the world, and our online collection reflects ongoing work conducted over the course of our more than 150-year history. You may encounter objects or images that may be inappropriate for some viewers or information that may be outdated.