Palestine in the Eyes of Photographers
Long before the age of mass tourism and modern media, a handful of pioneering photographers journeyed to Palestine carrying heavy glass plates and fragile chemicals through dusty roads and mountain passes. What they brought back changed how the world saw the Holy Land forever.
This collection focuses on two of the most celebrated photographers of 19th century Palestine — the Frenchman Félix Bonfils and the Englishman Francis Frith — whose images captured Palestine as a living, breathing place of extraordinary beauty, rich culture and deep history.
Félix Bonfils (1831–1885)
Félix Bonfils was a French photographer and writer who roamed the Middle East during the 1860s, actively travelling to Lebanon, Palestine and Syria. He was born in Saint-Hippolyte-du-Fort in 1831 and died in Alès in 1885. Félix worked as a bookbinder and in 1860 he joined General d’Hautpoul’s expedition to the Levant. He and his family moved to Beirut in 1867 where they opened a photographic studio called “Maison Bonfils”.
Francis Frith (1822–1898)
Francis Frith was an English photographer of the Middle East. Born in Chesterfield, Derbyshire, in 1850 he started a photographic studio in Liverpool. Frith fostered an interest in photography, becoming a founding member of the Liverpool Photographic Society in 1853. He sold his companies in 1855 to dedicate himself entirely to photography, journeying to the Middle East and Palestine in 1860.
