Antonio Beato, Travelers at the Great Pyramids (about 1870). Albumen print. Gift of Dr. Robert L. and Chitranee Drapkin from The Ludmila Dandrew and Chitranee Drapkin Collection
ST. PETERSBURG - Egypt was an exotic land to nineteenth-century European artists. Painters, writers, and photographers traveled to Egypt to explore, document, and interpret this great country, its civilization, and its newly discovered antiquities. Technical advances in the young art of photography encouraged direct observation and the advancement of knowledge.
Forever in a Moment: Nineteenth-Century Photographs of Egypt, on view through April 10, 2012, at the Museum of Fine Art captures this wonderful sense of discovery. The exhibition of more than 40 images complements Ancient Egypt - Art and Magic: Treasures from the Fondation Gandur pour l’Art/Geneva, on display from Dec. 17 through April 29, 2012.
Photographers and other artists molded perceptions of Egypt for the vast majority of Europeans who could not travel there themselves. These early visual explorations were in a sense, journalistic; deciding what to photograph and present was much more than rote recording of landmarks and people. In fact, the photographers helped foster the view of an exotic, mysterious Egypt.
The majority of these photographs, donated from The Ludmila Dandrew and Chitranee Drapkin Collection, are mainly European. Many spotlight ancient monuments and sites. Antonio Beato (1825-1903), for example, was born in Italy and became a British citizen. He maintained studios in Cairo and Luxor from 1862-1900 and became one of the most accomplished photographers of Egypt.
Félix Bonfils (1831-1885) moved his family from France to Beirut, Lebanon and produced a staggering 15,000 prints of Egypt and the Near East. His wife Lydie also fell in love with the region.
The exhibition also includes the work of such little-known artists as G. Lekegian, an Armenian active in Egypt between 1860 and 1890. His images of tombs and temples, his landscapes, and his portraits are windows on history and culture.
Frequently, figures were included to show scale and also to introduce elements of daily life. Many of these photographs were designed to satisfy the burgeoning trade in travel photographs and albums.
This is the third exhibition in a series unveiling the magnanimous gifts of photography from Ludmila and Bruce Dandrew and Chitranee and Dr. Robert L. Drapkin. Additional works have been lent by The Drapkin Collection, Timothy Welsh, and another private collector. In writing about the photographs of Maxime Du Camp, critic Francis Wey noted: “To penetrate this album is to take a voyage.” So it is with Forever in a Moment.
The Museum of Fine Art at 255 Beach Drive NE. in St. Petersburg has an encyclopedic collection of art from around the globe and across the centuries. On view are striking works by Monet, Gauguin, Renoir, Morisot, Cézanne, Rodin, O’Keeffe, and many others. Also displayed are ancient Greek and Roman, Egyptian, Asian, African, pre-Columbian, and Native American art. The photography collection is one of the largest and most significant in the Southeast.
The Museum is open from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Saturday, and noon to 5 p.m. Sunday. Admission is $17 for adults, $15 for those 65 and older, and $10 for students seven and older, including college students with current ID. Children under seven and Museum members are admitted free. Groups of 10 or more adults pay only $12 per person and children $4 each with prior reservations.
For more information, please call 727-896-2667 or visit www.fine-arts.org.
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