Accession Number
1994/2.28.1

Title
Jérusalem, Porte de Jaffa, extérieur

Artist(s)
Felix Bonfils

Artist Nationality
French (culture or style)

Object Creation Date
circa 1867-1885

Medium & Support
albumen print on paper

Dimensions
10 15/16 in x 14 in (27.78 cm x 35.56 cm)

Credit Line
Gift of Margaret and Howard Bond

Subject matter
In this photograph, Bonfils juxtaposes the medieval architecture of Jerusalem’s so-called Old City with the hustle and bustle of contemporary daily life. The viewer looks down (as though from a second- or third-story window) onto a dusty street where a crowd of pedestrians and horse-drawn carriages file past a restaurant and market booths just outside the historic Jaffa Gate, one of the eight portals that pierce the sixteenth-century fortifications built during the reign of Ottoman Sultan Suleiman I. Nestled into a corner where the gatehouse protrudes from the wall, temporary wood and cloth stalls contrast with the heavy solidity of their monochromatic stone backdrop. A restaurant façade fills much of the left side of the picture, complete with shuttered doors and windows, awning, and painted signs that read “A. Fast Restaurateur.”  This image is one of hundreds of photographs made throughout Bonfils's career which purport to document various landscapes, cityscapes, and people of the eastern Mediterranean.

Physical Description
In this photograph, pedestrians and horse-drawn carriages populate the street in front of a two-storied restaurant façade which adjoins a crenellated stone wall in the middle ground.  

Primary Object Classification
Photograph

Collection Area
Photography

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

Keywords
Holy Land
buildings
carriages (vehicles)
cities
city gates
domes
groups
males
marketplaces
pedestrians
restaurants
standing
street scenes
streets
travel photography
trees
urban landscapes