Skip to main content
  1. Art
  2. The Collection

The Memnonium, Thebes

Francis Frith

Artwork Details

The Memnonium, Thebes
1857
Francis Frith
albumen print on paper
12 1/2 in x 17 1/4 in (31.8 cm x 43.8 cm);14 in x 18 in (35.56 cm x 45.72 cm);12 7/16 in x 17 3/16 in (31.6 cm x 43.7 cm);6 3/8 in x 9 in (16.2 cm x 22.9 cm)
Gift of Frederick P. and Amy McCombs Currier
1988/1.96.1-2

Tags

Description

Subject Matter:

This photograph shows two buildings from the Memnonium complex at Thebes in Egypt. The background building, the Ramesseum, is a mortuary temple built by Ramesses II and completed circa 1250 BC. Its columns are decorated with statues of the pharaoh as Osiris, god of the underworld. The foreground figure sitting on the stone rubble in front of the complex provides a sense of scale and accentuates the barreness of the setting. The foreground building, which is partially cut off from view, appears much larger in scale and emphasizes the monumentality of the structures.

Physical Description:

Two Egyptian buildings, each with columns, are depicted in a desert landscape with a man sitting on a pile of rubble in front of the complex.

Usage Rights:

If you are interested in using an image for a publication, please visit https://umma.umich.edu/request-image/ for more information and to fill out the online Image Rights and Reproductions Request Form.