Artwork

Relief depicting Assyring King Ashur-Nasir-Pal II (885-860 B.C.), Louvre, Paris

Relief depicting Assyring King Ashur-Nasir-Pal II (885-860 B.C.), Louvre, Paris is a photographic photography by the Impressionist artist Unknown. It dates from 1884 and is held in the collection of the Victoria and Albert Museum. This photograph captures a stone relief of Ashur-Nasir-Pal II, an Assyrian ruler from the 9th century BCE, now housed in the Louvre.

About this work

Overview

This photograph captures a stone relief of Ashur-Nasir-Pal II, an Assyrian ruler from the 9th century BCE, now housed in the Louvre.

This photograph captures a stone relief of Ashur-Nasir-Pal II, an Assyrian ruler from the 9th century BCE, now housed in the Louvre. It is one of 611 images collected by John Singer Sargent during his travels across Europe, North Africa, and the Middle East. Acquired by the Victoria and Albert Museum in 1925, the collection was originally intended as a reference for artistic study, organized by geographic and thematic content rather than as fine art.

Subject & Meaning

The relief depicts Ashur-Nasir-Pal II in traditional Assyrian regalia, likely part of a palace wall narrative emphasizing royal authority and divine favor. Though the carving dates to antiquity, the photograph preserves its sculptural depth through careful lighting, highlighting the king’s stylized features and hierarchical scale. Sargent’s interest in such imagery stemmed from his research into historical iconography, particularly for religious murals in Boston.

Technique & Style

The photograph employs strong directional light to accentuate the relief’s carved contours, creating a pronounced three-dimensional effect. The composition is straightforward, avoiding embellishment to prioritize documentary clarity. Though Sargent was an amateur photographer, the image’s technical precision suggests it was likely made by a professional local artisan, consistent with the majority of his collection, which he assembled for study rather than aesthetic display.

History & Provenance

The photograph was part of a personal archive Sargent compiled between the 1870s and 1910s, stored in bound albums with his handwritten annotations. After his death in 1925, his sisters donated the entire collection to the Victoria and Albert Museum. The museum cataloged the images by region and subject, integrating them into its sculpture and photographic archives, where they were valued for their scholarly utility rather than artistic merit.

Context

Sargent’s photographic travels coincided with his work on The Triumph of Religion, a mural cycle requiring deep engagement with ancient Near Eastern and Mediterranean visual traditions. His collection included architectural details, religious sculptures, and inscriptions from sites he visited, serving as visual notes for compositional research. These images reflect a broader 19th-century practice among artists of using photography to document historical artifacts abroad.

Legacy

The photograph remains part of a significant archival resource at the Victoria and Albert Museum, illustrating how 19th-century artists engaged with antiquity through mechanical reproduction. While Sargent’s own paintings are widely studied, his photographic collection offers insight into his methodological process and the cross-cultural influences shaping his later work. The images continue to support academic research into historical art and its documentation.