Fallen Statue at the Ramesseum, Thebes, 1857. This mammoth print conveys the epic scale of the memorial temple of Ramesses the Great while disclosing its smallest details, such as tourist graffiti on the head of the fallen statue. Upon arrival, these tourists might have pondered Percy Bysshe Shelley’s 1818 epic poem Ozymandias about these ruins. The fallen ruler’s portrait urges visitors to "Look on my works, ye Mighty, and despair!" One wonders how personally European tourists took this warning about the power of time to topple mighty empires. Perhaps unconsciously,

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Fallen Statue at the Ramesseum, Thebes, 1857. This mammoth print conveys the epic scale of the memorial temple of Ramesses the Great while disclosing its smallest details, such as tourist graffiti on the head of the fallen statue. Upon arrival, these tourists might have pondered Percy Bysshe Shelley’s 1818 epic poem Ozymandias about these ruins. The fallen ruler’s portrait urges visitors to "Look on my works, ye Mighty, and despair!" One wonders how personally European tourists took this warning about the power of time to topple mighty empires. Perhaps unconsciously, Frith’s image suggests the colonial relationship between the tourists and their Egyptian guides and servants. For the Europeans, the image is proof and a souvenir, like a modern snapshot. The Egyptians are props in someone else’s adventure.

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Size: 5682px × 4524px
Photo credit: © Heritage Images / Alamy / Afripics
License: Licensed
Model Released: No

Keywords: 1822-1898, 19th, albumen, art, british, century, cleveland, collodion, england, francis, frith, heritage, mackenzie, museum, negative, photograph, print, wet, william