Balbek. Temple.

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Balbek. Temple.

Artist Félix Bonfils (French, 1831-1885)

Dateabout 1870-1880

DimensionsImage: 9 5/16 x 11 3/16 in. (23.7 x 28.3 cm);
Mount: 9 1/2 x 11 5/16 in. (24.1 x 28.7 cm)

MediumAlbumen print

ClassificationPhotographs

Credit LineGift of Mr. and Mrs. Wm. B. Becker

Object number

1986.119

Not on View

Label TextFélix Bonfils, like most of the western photographers working in the Near East in the early 19th century, would often pose local residents in his compositions of ancient ruins. This was done primarily to establish a sense of scale. However, Bonfils did something more. His locals are often shown in slightly tongue-in-cheek ways. In this photograph an adolescent is sitting cross-legged in the niche on the left. The temple complex at Baalbek, a town in the Bekaa Valley of Lebanon, was built as Heliopolis under the orders of the Roman Emperor Augustus approximately 2,050 years ago. It was dedicated to the worship of Jupiter, Venus, and Bacchus. It is ironic that a local youth occupies a space once dedicated to a Roman deity.Exhibition HistoryBuildings Real and Ideal: Nov. 15, 2007 - Jan 27, 2008 Toledo Museum of Art, Travelers Through Ancient Lands, Sept. 10 - Feb. 6, 2011 (no cat.).