Calotypes of Egypt

📖 The Scoop

The work of Félix Teynard (1817-1892) essentially consists in a set of 160 photographic plates titled Egypt and Nubia printed in 1853-1854 by the firm of H. Fonteny in Paris. Teynard's goal was to create a collection of photographs that would complement Description of Egypt (1809-1828), a series of volumes documenting Napoleon's expedition to Egypt using maps, texts and engravings which were thought to be inadequate. Trained as a civil engineer, Félix Teynard produced a unique body of work through balanced compositions and a keen observation of monuments and architecture. Going beyond temples and well-known sites, he was also interested in vegetation, landscapes and more modest buildings, showing an openness in his choice of subjects. Since the invention of photography in 1839, traveller-photographers have swarmed to the distant and mythical East. The CCA Collection includes a large number of albums and photographs produced on Egypt, from the nineteenth century up to the present.

Genre: Photography / General (fancy, right?)