Pyramid of Chephren (Khafre), Middle Egypt
A majestic pyramid rises from a sea of windswept sand. Du Camp’s view of Khafre, one of his earliest photographs from Egypt, is also one of the most striking. Like most of his published photographs, this one was printed after the sky had been painted out in the negative, leaving blank space above the horizon and a better delineated monument. Du Camp’s traveling companion Gustave Flaubert was dumbstruck by the view from atop the pyramids, writing to his brother, "You wrap yourself in your coat, since the cold air bites, and you shut your mouth; that’s all."
Artwork Details
- Title: Pyramid of Chephren (Khafre), Middle Egypt
- Artist: Maxime Du Camp (French, 1822–1894)
- Printer: Imprimerie photographique de Blanquart-Évrard, à Lille (French, active 1851–55)
- Date: December 10, 1849, printed 1852
- Medium: Salted paper print (Blanquart-Évrard process) from paper negative
- Dimensions: Mount: 12 in. × 16 15/16 in. (30.5 × 43 cm)
- Classification: Photographs
- Credit Line: Robert O. Dougan Collection, Gift of Warner Communications Inc., 1981
- Object Number: 1981.1229.6.1
- Curatorial Department: Photographs
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