Through the centuries, photographs have been used as a way to immortalise time which is probably why Instagram rise to fame in the last half a decade doesn’t come as a surprise. But now, you have a chance to see what Makkah was like more than 125 years ago.
Louvre Abu Dhabi’s first photography exhibition ‘Photographs 1842 – 1896: An Early Album of the World’ will open to the public on April 25 and will showcase a photograph of Makkah shot by Egyptian photographer Muhammad Sadiq Bey in 1881.
The exhibition will run from April 2 to July 13, and features more than 250 images taken all over the world including the Americas, Africa, the Middle East and Asia.
This exhibition will follow the early development of photography. To put into perspective, the world’s first photograph made in a camera was taken in 1826 by Joseph Nicéphore Niépce.
The photographs exhibited were considered ‘real’ reflections of the world, and offer insight into life in the 1800s and the exploration of what was then considered foreign countries by Europeans.
On the new exhibition, Manuel Rabate, Director of Louvre Abu Dhabi said: “We are looking forward to Louvre Abu Dhabi’s first photography exhibition, which will be part of our cultural season ‘A World of Exchanges’. Photographs 1842 – 1896: An Early Album of the World explores the role of photography in enabling the sharing of photographs from around the world, documenting peoples’ lives and environments.”
“Pioneering photographers played a key role in making other cultures visible and accessible to people back home, the same way our audiences record their daily experiences to share them with their family, friends and online communities,” he added.
The exhibition will also include some of the oldest photographs of Saudi Arabia and Yemen by Auguste Barthold.
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