BEATO, Antonio

Albumen print

10 1/4 x 14 3/4 in.

Italian-born Antonio Beato opened his Cairo studio in 1862. He thoroughly documented the region, establishing himself as the leading suppliers of Egyptian views. His photographs fed the publics desire and propagated the prevailing romantic mystique in which this Oriental land was regarded. Through Beatos photographs, viewers could venture inside ancient Egyptian temples, see painted interiors, and study hieroglyphics up close. Beato also captured dreamy vistas which cast an air of fantasy about the ruins, evidenced in Temple Complex at Philae. Images of Egypt created a consistent picture of the country as a strange land, trapped in a primitive past, unable to advance. The representation of individuals contributed to this skewed viewpoint: Egyptians in Beato's pictures typically fulfill two purposes: to demonstrate scale and to depict the rustic quality of their lives. Individuals shown in traditional garb and were frequently shot from a distance, reducing them to picturesque stand-ins for an oriental type. In Three Native Figures, Beatos subjects are photographed in simple robes next to irregularly shaped earthen architecture dwellings. For tourists and scholars these buildings left much to be desired in comparison to the ancient, majestic, and symmetrically composed stone temples normally associated with Egypt. This apparent devolution confirmed western superiority, reminding them of how far removed contemporary Egyptians were from the glorious legacy of their forefathers. Few photographers captured the rapidly developing rail lines or large-scale building projects that occurred as the result of efforts by the Ottoman Empire to modernize this territory.

ca. 1835 - 1906

Beato, Antonio

Italian-British, 1835 - 1906

Dr. and Mrs. Jay Keystone

1985.324