Maxime Du Camp’s Egypt, Nubia, Palestine, and Syria, undertaken between 1849 and 1851, combines travel documentation with early photographic techniques. Encouraged by the French Ministry of Public Instruction, Du Camp embarked on a mission to capture the architectural legacy of the Eastern Mediterranean, producing what became the first photographically illustrated book published in France. This collection of 125 photographs, published in 1852, created a lasting European perspective on the Middle East and North Africa, framing these regions within a Western narrative of historical preservation and cultural admiration.
The project emerged in a period when European intellectuals were intensely curious about ancient civilizations and sought to document them with scientific precision. Du Camp’s journey was accompanied by the young novelist Gustave Flaubert, adding a literary dimension to the expedition. This companionship fostered an intellectual environment that likely influenced Du Camp's work, blending factual representation with a poetic quality. His images, often devoid of human presence, emphasize the isolation and grandeur of monuments like the Sphinx and the temples of Karnak. This focus on uninhabited landscapes contributed to a vision of the Middle East as a region marked by its ancient past, subtly overlooking the contemporary societies living amidst these ruins.
The aesthetic quality of Du Camp’s photographs lies in their subtle tonal range, achieved through the salted paper print method. His images are characterized by soft, nuanced gradations that lend an atmospheric quality, balancing clarity with a muted, dreamlike tone. This choice of technique enhanced a perception of objectivity in his documentation, allowing viewers to perceive the images as factual representations. However, some of Du Camp’s earlier, private prints reveal a different vision: they display warmer hues and variations in tone, hinting at his personal connection to the Mediterranean’s vivid landscapes. These proof prints suggest that his initial impressions may have been more interpretative than the final published images, which emphasized a neutral, almost scientific view of the region.
Technically, Du Camp’s work was a pioneering effort. Using the calotype process, a challenging technique involving paper negatives, he was able to capture fine architectural details, preserving the intricacy of these ancient sites under difficult environmental conditions. This method, which required precision and patience, was critical in achieving the detailed, lasting images that would captivate audiences in Europe. His work not only documented ancient sites but also highlighted photography's potential as a tool for cultural preservation and exploration.
Upon its 1852 publication—the first photographically illustrated book issued in France—Du Camp’s project drew early notice and later institutional recognition. Key markers include a gold medal at the Exposition Universelle (Paris, 1867) and recent reassessments such as Proof: Maxime Du Camp’s Photographs of the Eastern Mediterranean and North Africa (The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 2023–24). Holdings at The Metropolitan Museum of Art, The Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, The Museum of Modern Art (MoMA), The Cleveland Museum of Art, the George Eastman Museum, and the Art Institute of Chicago provide the core material consulted for teaching, catalogues, and exhibition loans.
