Antonio Beato, Karnak West Pylon With The Sphinx, Egypt C.1870. Signed Albumen Print

A vintage albumen print, signed in the plate, with superb chemistry and beautiful contrasts. This magnificent albumen print captures the grandeur of the entrance to the Temple of Karnak, likely depicting the pylon of Amenhotep III with its avenue lined with ram-headed sphinxes. The photograph highlights the spectacular scale of ancient Egyptian architecture, with its massive stone walls rising towards the sky and its eroded sphinxes aligned in the foreground. In 1870, Antonio Beato, a photographer of Italian origin, settled and established a studio in Luxor, Upper Egypt. Between 1870 and 1900, he photographed the site and the surrounding area of the Karnak temples extensively and regularly. The Karnak temple complex is a collection of ruins including temples, chapels, pylons, and other buildings located north of Thebes, now the city of Luxor, Egypt, on the east bank of the Nile. Rebuilt and developed over 2,000 years by the pharaohs, the Karnak complex is the largest religious complex of all antiquity. - Photo size 21 x 26.5 cm - Mat 40 x 50 cm Link to the website: https://www.lavalisearlesienne.com/product-page/antonio-beato-1825-1905-karnak-pylone-ouest-avec-le-sphynx-egypte-c-1870