Tomb of the Virgin, Jerusalem

1854

From the collection of Cleveland Museum of Art

Impressionism Realism Early 19th Century

Dominant colour

Tomb of the Virgin, Jerusalem is a 1854 by Auguste Salzmann, a Impressionism work, held at Cleveland Museum of Art.

Who painted this?: Auguste Salzmann
When & what style?: 1854 · Impressionism
Where can I see it?: Cleveland Museum of Art

About this work

This is a close-up of a stone doorway in Jerusalem, so tight you can count the chisel marks. The door itself is missing—just hinges and a dark hole. Most 1850s photographers shot whole buildings. Salzmann zoomed in like a detective, framing only what proved a point about ancient dates. The French government paid him to settle an argument, not to make pretty postcards. If you like this quiet focus, look up the technique called chiaroscuro.

The story of this work

Overview

In 1854, Auguste Salzmann was commissioned by the French Ministry of Public Instruction to document the holy city of Jerusalem. His charge was to substantiate the controversial theories about dating ancient ruins proposed by his friend, Louis Félicien de Saulcy, a noted antiquarian. Unlike almost all other photographers documenting architecture in the 19th century, Salzmann relied on extreme close-up views. In this example, he eliminated most of the building, concentrating on the door of the tomb and its surrounding architectural elements. As a result, all indications of scale, terrain,…

Read the full account in the museum source.