Alexandria: Column of Pompeii, ca. 1860

About the Work

The imposing Roman triumphal pillar rises above the Alexandrian countryside. Considering the architectural force exuded by the monument at the centre of the picture, the group of people at its bottom is hardly noticeable – and yet it is indispensable for the composition. The man keeping the two horses serves as a marker of the relative dimensions of the edifice; his garments conform to the European idea of the Orient. In the late 1850s Hammerschmidt settled in Cairo and was among the most popular German photographers in Egypt.