Photographed by Scott Wolff. Captured from a digital file. Color corrected by Pat Cagney.

Fortress of Margat [Syria] – Partial view of the walls from the west (Kalaat-el-Markab – Vue partielle des murs (ouest)

Artist Louis Constantin Henri François Xavier de Clercq (French, 1837 - 1901)

CultureFrench

Date1859-1861

MediumAlbumenized salted paper print from waxed paper negative

DimensionsOverall, Image: 11 × 8 1/2 in. (27.9 × 21.6 cm)
Overall, Support: 23 7/8 × 17 7/8 in. (60.6 × 45.4 cm)
Overall, Mat: 28 × 24 1/16 in. (71.1 × 61.1 cm)
Overall, Frame (estimated): 33 × 27 1/2 × 1 1/4 in. (83.8 × 69.9 × 3.2 cm)

InscribedMounted on its original board, it has the following type lithographed in black ink: Kalaat-el-Markab (Maragat) [next line:] Vue partiele des murs (ouest). Below that is printed the photographer's coat of arms. The number 13 is scratched into the negative so that it will appear on the print. This was an identifying number by the photographer.

Credit LineMuseum purchase, in memory of Alice R. and Sol B. Frank

Object number2004.10.1

On View

Chrysler Museum of Art, Gallery 228

DescriptionThis is an albumenized salted paper print with its original waxed paper negative. ;

Label TextLouis de Clercq French, 1837–1901 Fortress of Margat, Syria. Partial view of the walls from the west, 1859 negative, from the album Voyage en Orient 1859–1860, Villes, Monuments et Vues pittoresques, Recueil photographique éxecuté par Louis de Clercq, vol. 2, Châteaux du temps des croisades, Syrie, 1861 Albumenized salted paper print from waxed-paper negative In late 1859, amateur photographer Louis de Clercq arrived in Syria, where he took this picture of the castle of Margat. The fortress had been captured by Crusaders in 1186 and held by the Knights Hospitaller for a century in their battle for control of the Holy Land. Despite Napoléon III’s promises of protection, 2,500 Christians were killed in Damascus in 1860, prompting France to send in troops. By that time de Clercq had moved on to Egypt and Spain, eventually returning to Paris to self-publish six albums of prints from his travels. Museum purchase, in memory of Alice R. and Sol B. Frank 2004.10.1 ProvenanceTexbraun Gallery, Paris, France; Harry Lunn, 1987-1992; Daniel Blau, Munich, Germany, 2003; Robert Klein, Boston, Ma., 2004; Chrysler Museum of Art Purchase, in memory of Alice R. and Sol B. Frank, 2004. Exhibition History"New Frames of Reference: Early French Photographers at Home and Abroad," Chrysler Museum of Art, Norfolk, Va, gallery 228, September 5, 2024 - February 16, 2025. "New Light on Land: Photographs from the Chrysler Collection," Chrysler Museum of Art, Norfolk, VA, January 28 - May 15, 2016.