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Lot Essay
The Al-Aksa Mosque is situated at the southernmost end of the Haram al-Sharif or Temple Mount at the heart of Jerusalem. The name derives from the description "masjid el-aksa" meaning the furthermost sanctuary, as the site was recognised as the furthest point of the Muslim world when the Al-Aksa Mosque was constructed. The present building dates from the 10th century, although the first mosque on the site was completed in the 8th century. It is the third most holy site to Muslims after Mecca and Medina and access to the area was forbidden to all non-Muslims.
Undeterred by such practical problems, Girault de Prangey was obviously intent on returning home with daguerreotypes of this historic building, and succeeded, providing us with the earliest photographs of it still in existence today. He may have made this photograph from a position close to the one chosen for his large format view of the so-called Mosque of Omar (see May 2003 catalogue, lot 80). The smaller daguerreotype shows the view that would be just to the left of that scene, with the Al-Aksa Mosque at the back right of the picture, its arcade extending outwards towards the walls of the enclosure. There is a mysterious theatrical quality about this image. The small structures in the foreground appear as though on a stage with the larger buildings as a backdrop, an effect probably caused by the use of a relatively long lens. The centre is brightly lit, but only selected parts of the subject creep into the spotlight.
There are few photographs of this subject in the archive. Another is a view of the mosque taken from outside the walls of the sanctuary.
Undeterred by such practical problems, Girault de Prangey was obviously intent on returning home with daguerreotypes of this historic building, and succeeded, providing us with the earliest photographs of it still in existence today. He may have made this photograph from a position close to the one chosen for his large format view of the so-called Mosque of Omar (see May 2003 catalogue, lot 80). The smaller daguerreotype shows the view that would be just to the left of that scene, with the Al-Aksa Mosque at the back right of the picture, its arcade extending outwards towards the walls of the enclosure. There is a mysterious theatrical quality about this image. The small structures in the foreground appear as though on a stage with the larger buildings as a backdrop, an effect probably caused by the use of a relatively long lens. The centre is brightly lit, but only selected parts of the subject creep into the spotlight.
There are few photographs of this subject in the archive. Another is a view of the mosque taken from outside the walls of the sanctuary.