Artwork
Fallen Statue at the Ramesseum, Thebes
Fallen Statue at the Ramesseum, Thebes is a photography by the Impressionist artist Francis Frith. It dates from 1857 and is held in the collection of the Cleveland Museum of Art.
About this work
He wanted Victorian England to see how big and old these ruins really were, so he added his crew for scale.
You’re looking at a giant broken stone head lying in the sand, with tiny people standing beside it. The face is cracked, but you can still see the calm, carved features of an ancient Egyptian king.
Frith took this photo in 1857 using a huge glass plate that could record every crack and grain of sand. He wanted Victorian England to see how big and old these ruins really were, so he added his crew for scale.
If you like how photography can make history feel real, look up the technique called impasto.
Overview
This 1857 photograph, 'Fallen Statue at the Ramesseum, Thebes', captures a colossal ancient Egyptian statue in ruins, with expedition members included for scale, showcasing both the monument's grandeur and its state of decay.
Subject & Meaning
The image conveys the awe-inspiring scale and antiquity of Egyptian monuments for a Victorian audience, juxtaposing the serene, carved features of a king's statue with the ravages of time, as evidenced by cracks and its fallen state.
Technique & Style
Utilizing a large 18-x-22-inch glass negative (mammoth plate), Frith achieved remarkable detail, from the statue's intricate carvings to the surrounding sand grains, demonstrating early photographic capabilities in capturing nuanced textures and vast scenes.
History & Provenance
Taken during Frith's second Egyptian trip, the photograph was published in a rare album of 20 mammoth-plate views, marking one of the first collections dedicated to large-scale photographic prints, with only this single volume of his large works ever published.
Context
Created for an eager Victorian market, the image catered to a growing interest in exotic, ancient civilizations, leveraging photography's newfound ability to transport viewers to distant, historically rich locations through detailed, large-format imagery.
Artist & collection
Artist
Francis Frith was an English photographer and businessman. Francis Frith & Co., the company he founded in 1860 with the initial goal of photographing every town and village in England, quickly became the largest…
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