Artwork
Les cariatides du Ramesseum 134
Les cariatides du Ramesseum 134 is a photography by the Impressionist artist Abdullah Frères. It dates from 1874 and is held in the collection of the Cleveland Museum of Art.
About this work
Overview
The image captures two towering stone caryatids standing amid the fragmented remains of the Ramesseum, the mortuary temple built for Pharaoh Ramesses II in Thebes. The photograph was produced by the Abdullah Frères, a trio of brothers whose studio operated out of Istanbul and achieved pre‑eminence across the Ottoman Empire in the mid‑19th century.
Subject & Meaning
The figures are not depictions of deities but architectural supports fashioned in the likeness of human forms, known as caryatids. Their presence in the temple’s ruined courtyard underscores the grandeur of Ramesses II’s building program and the integration of sculptural art into monumental architecture.
Technique & Style
Taken with the large‑format photographic equipment of the era, the Abdullah Frères employed careful composition to emphasize the verticality of the stone figures against the broken masonry. The monochrome tonal range highlights the texture of the weathered limestone and the interplay of light and shadow within the site.
History & Provenance
The photograph joins a small corpus of early visual records of the Ramesseum, complementing similar images by British photographer Francis Frith and French photographers Henri Béchard and Adolphe Braun. These works collectively document the temple’s condition during the 19th‑century wave of archaeological interest in Egypt.
Context
Produced at a time when photography was beginning to replace drawing as the primary means of recording antiquities, the Abdullah Frères’ image reflects the broader Ottoman‑European fascination with Egypt’s ancient monuments. Their Istanbul base facilitated the distribution of such images throughout the empire and beyond.
Artist & collection
Artist
The Abdullah Frères were a group of three Ottoman brothers of Armenian descent, Vichen Abdullahyan (1820–1902), Hovsep Abdullahyan (1830–1908), and Kevork Abdullahyan (1839–1918), photographers of international fame during the late Ottoman…
Fallen Statue at the Ramesseum, Thebes
The Ramesseum, Thebes
Southern Portion of the Rock-cut Temple of Hathor, Abu Simbel
Kom Ombo
Temple of Ramesses II, Abu Simbel
Large Speos - View taken from the Sand Slope (Temple of Ramesses II), Abu Simbel
Egypt and Nubia, Volume I: One of Two Colossal Statues of Rameses II. Entrance to the Temple of Luxor
Excavation of the Great Temple of Ramesses II at Abu Simbel
The Pyramids of Saqqara, from the Northeast
