Auguste Salzmann (French, 1824-1872)
"Jérusalem. Sarcophage Judaïque", 1854
Blanquart-Évrard process salt print from a paper negative
23.2 x 33.2 cm mounted on 45.0 x 56.6 cm paper
Title and credits lithographed on mount

Auguste Salzmann (French, 1824-1872)
"Carriere a la Porte de Damas, Jerusalem", 1854 / 1856
Blanquart-Evrard process salt print from a paper negative
23.4 x 33.7 cm mounted on 41.1 x 58.5 cm paper
Title and "Aug. Salzmann" with "Gide et J. Baudry, editeurs. / Imp. Photogr. de Blanquart-Evrard, a Lille" lithographed on mount

Auguste Salzmann (French, 1824-1872)
Jerusalem. Escalier Arabe de Sainte-Marie La Grande details de la Partie Superieure, 1854-1856
Blanquart-Evrard process salt print from a paper negative
32.9 x 23.6 cm
Unknown alpha/numeric notation in the negative. Title and credits lithographed on mount.

Auguste Salzmann (French, 1824-1872)
"Jérusalem, Enceinte du Temple, Face-Sud de l'angle Sud-Est", 1854-1856
Blanquart-Evrard process salt print from a paper negative
33.3 x 23.5 cm mounted on 59.0 x 43.8 cm paper
Printed title with "Augst Salzmann / Gide et J. Bardry, éditeurs / Imp. Photgr. de Blanquart-Evrard, à Lille" on mount

A landscape painter and archaeologist, the Alsatian born Salzmann became a pupil of LeGray and learned to excel at the waxed paper negative process. In 1853 he traveled from Paris to Jerusalem on a very particular mission. According to the Metropolitan Museum: "Hoping to verify religious faith through the objective documentation of the city's holy sites, he turned to photography, creating one of the most enigmatic bodies of work of the 19th century." In this image, Salzmann depicts the impenetrable temple wall above a mound of grass as a two-dimensional abstraction.