Francis Frith
1858 (ca)
Kom Ombo
[Egypt, Sinai and Jerusalem: A Series of Twenty Photographic Views, with Descriptions by Mrs. Poole and Reginald Stuart Poole]

Albumen print, from wet collodion negative
39.5 x 49 cm (15 9/16 x 19 5/16 ins) (image) 61 x 76.2 cm (24 x 30 ins) (mat)
 
Cleveland Museum of Art
John L. Severance Fund, 1986.193
 
Description (Accessed: 7 February 2019)
Frith often emulated the drawings of David Roberts in selecting monuments to illustrate and positions from which to shoot. Both artists encountered the temple at Kom Ombo still more than halfway buried in sand. “It reminds you of some grand old giant, buried to the shoulders,” wrote Frith, “not dead yet, but overpowered and imprisoned by some potent spell—majestic in his helplessness.” In his photographs, however, Frith cared less about emotional impact and more about the accuracy of his depictions. “A truthful record is of more value than the most elaborately beautiful picture,” he proclaimed.
 
LL/87413