The Cleveland Museum of Art
Collection Online as of April 25, 2024
Kaalat el Athlit, Syria, View from the Seaside
1859
(French, 1836–1901)
Image: 20.7 x 15.2 cm (8 1/8 x 6 in.); Matted: 55.9 x 71.1 cm (22 x 28 in.)
Leonard C. Hanna, Jr. Fund 1996.254
Location: not on view
Description
After fulfilling his obligation to a government-sponsored expedition to the crusader castles of Syria and Asia Minor, Louis de Clercq continued his photographic exploration of the Holy Land, moved on to Egypt, and returned to France through Spain. From the probably several hundred paper negatives he took during his extensive travels, de Clercq published a selection of 222 albumen prints, divided into 6 volumes, which were frequently bound as 5 albums, titled Voyage in Orient (1859–60). This carefully posed panorama of the Syrian coastline at Kaalat el Athlit, bathed in warm light and luminous shadows, records the sweep of space and rugged beauty of the site, emphasizing its geographical and topographical features. Interestingly, de Clercq’s use of the panoramas represents an impressive technical achievement, since the difficulties in mid-19th-century photography only increased when the negatives had to form a continuous image. His panoramas also reveal the period’s zeal to convey as much information as possible about the experience of a place.- (Weston Gallery, Carmel, CA)September 16, 1996The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH
- Clercq, and Rolf Mayer. Louis De Clercq: Voyage En Orient. Stuttgart-Bad Cannstatt: Edition Cantz, 1989. pl. 3Cleveland Museum of Art, “Rare Korean Screen Painting, Important Baroque Drawing, Sheeler Drawing Join the Museum Collection,” October 10, 1996, Cleveland Museum of Art Archives. archive.org
- Signs of Life: Recent Photography Acquisitions. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (November 22, 2003-April 7, 2004).
- {{cite web|title=Kaalat el Athlit, Syria, View from the Seaside|url=false|author=Louis de Clercq|year=1859|access-date=25 April 2024|publisher=Cleveland Museum of Art}}
Source URL:
https://www.clevelandart.org/art/1996.254