Auguste Salzmann facts for kids

Auguste Salzmann (1824–1872) was a French artist who loved history. He was one of the first people to use photography to study old buildings and ruins. This special way of using photos is called archaeological photography.

Life and Early Work

Auguste Salzmann was born in 1824 in Alsace, France. His family was wealthy and ran businesses. When he was older, he became friends with a painter and writer named Eugène Fromentin. In 1847, they traveled together to Algeria.

In 1851, Salzmann was in Egypt. There, he met a famous Egyptologist (someone who studies ancient Egypt) named Auguste Mariette. Salzmann became very interested in Mariette's work.

Salzmann was a painter who created pictures of landscapes and religious scenes. But he also became a pioneer in photography. He was one of the first to use cameras to help with archaeological studies. Along with another photographer named Louis De Clercq [fr], Salzmann was important for using an early type of photo called a calotype. His work was not just about Egypt, which was common for photographers at the time.

Journey to Jerusalem

In 1853, Salzmann planned to research old buildings belonging to the Knights Hospitaller on the island of Rhodes. But his plans changed! He became very interested in a scientific debate about the age of the walls of Jerusalem. This discussion started in 1852 because of an archaeologist named Félix de Saulcy. De Saulcy had written a book in 1853 called Voyage autour de la Mer Morte (which means 'Travels Around the Dead Sea').

Salzmann knew de Saulcy. He decided to change his trip to help with this debate. He wrote, "I have changed my travel destination because I believe I can truly help science. I have researched all the monuments of Jerusalem and mainly photographed those whose age has been debated."

Salzmann stayed in Jerusalem for four months. He took almost 200 photos! He had to return to France because he got a fever.

Photography and Legacy

Salzmann's most famous photos are from his book called Jerusalem. This book has 174 pictures. Many of them show details of old buildings and things found during digs. He used these photos as proof in the debate about the age of the walls.

Salzmann was good at both painting and science. He combined these skills in his photography. His book also showed pictures of Jerusalem, the Valley of Josaphat, and Bethlehem.

His photos are considered more artistic than those of his fellow photographer, Maxime Du Camp. Salzmann's book was published in 1856. It was very expensive for the time, costing over 1400 Francs! It was not a big commercial success like Du Camp's book. Instead, it was mostly for people who were very interested in archaeology.

Later, in 1860, a magazine called Le Tour du monde published some of Salzmann's images. They were shown as woodcuts, which are prints made from carved wood.