Hippolyte Arnoux

Hippolyte Arnoux (active ca. 1860 – ca. 1890) was a French photographer and publisher. He was one of the first photographers to produce images of Egypt and documented the Suez Canal project with extensive photographs and a publication.

Hippolyte Arnoux
A rare image by Hippolyte Arnoux courtesy of the Saulso Collection
Bornunknown
France
Diedunknown
NationalityFrench
Known forOrientalist photographer and painter
Notable work
Album du Canal de Suez (A documentation of the excavation of the Suez Canal)

Life and career

Very little is known about this photographer, other than that he was active in the Nile Valley from about 1869 through to at least 1890. His place and date of birth are unknown, but he is known to have been French. Similarly, his place and date of death are unknown, as is his final resting place. [1]

By the 1850s, tourist travel to Egypt created strong demand for photographs as souvenirs. A small group of early photographers, mostly of French origin, made their way to Cairo and the Nile Valley to capitalise on this demand. These pioneering photographers included Félix Bonfils (1831-1885); Gustave Le Gray (1820-1884), brothers Henri and Emile Bechard; the British-Italian brothers Antonio Beato (c. 1832–1906) and Felice Beato and the Greek Zangaki brothers. [2] Although it is unclear when Arnoux first travelled to Egypt, he appears to have been in Egypt around the same time as this group of pioneering photographers. Some evidence points to a collaboration between Arnoux and the Zangaki Brothers, but the precise nature of any such relationship is unclear. [3]

Arnoux is known to have established a studio in Place de Consuls in Port Said in the 1860s, and later a different studio at Place Ferdinand de Lesseps also in Port Said. [4] He also operated a floating darkroom in Port Said in the 1860s and 70s, of which a photograph survives. [5] He may have been the official photographer, appointed by the Universal Company of the Suez Canal, to document the work on the canal. In this capacity, Arnoux may have hired the Zangaki Brothers to assist him. [6] At a later date, Arnoux was in partnership with the British-Italian photographer, Antonio Beato. [7]

In 1874, Arnoux instigated litigation against the Zangaki Brothers and one Spiridion Antippa accusing them of usurping his intellectual property. Arnoux was successful and on 29 June, 1876, the Court of Ismailia, recognized them as "guilty of usurpation of artistic and industrial property and unfair competition." [8]

Work

During the 1860s, he documented the excavation of the Suez Canal and published the resulting photographs as Album du Canal de Suez. At the same time, he may have occasionally worked with the Port Said photographic studio, Zangaki Brothers on the project to document the Suez Canal. He also produced numerous portraits of Egyptian peoples, probably made in his studio. [9]

Selected images of Egyptian People

  • Young Woman, Egypt, Studio portrait, 1880
  • Egyptian women and children, c. 1890
  • Two Egyptian Women, studio portrait, 1865-1890
  • Bedouin Cameleers of Palestine, 1893
  • The Pyramids of Gizah, 1870-1900
  • Drinking place with camels, near the Pyramids of Gizah, 1870-1900

Selected images of the Suez Canal project

  • Doorvaart in the Suez Canal, c. 1880
  • Montage of images of the Suez works, c. 1870
  • A Dredging Mill at Work, c. 1870
  • View of Suez, 1865-1890
  • View of Port Said, at the mouth of the Suez Canal
  • Cargo ships make their way through the Suez Canal, c. 1880
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See also

References
  1. Hannavy, J., Encyclopedia of Nineteenth-Century Photography, Routledge, 2013, p. 73; It may be worth noting that some scholars suggest that Arnoux was in Egypt at the earlier date of 1860 or 1865, see for instance, Um, N., "Bridging the Mediterranean and Gujarat with the Turn of a Page: Picturing the Dimensions of Maritime Travel in an Extra-Illustrated Nineteenth-Century Book about India," Getty Research Journal, 2016, p. 242
  2. Jacobson, K., Odalisques and Arabesques: Orientalist Photography, 1839-1925, London, Bernard Quaritch, 2007, p. 277.
  3. Irini Apostolou, "Photographes Français et Locaux en Orient Méditerranéen au XXIX siècle: Quelques cas de collaboration," Bulletin du Centre de Recherche Français à Jérusalem, Vol. 24, 2013 (translated from French)
  4. Hannavy, J., Encyclopedia of Nineteenth-Century Photography, Routledge, 2013, p. 73; It may be worth noting that the Zangaki Bros were also operating their studio at Port Said.
  5. Um, N., "Bridging the Mediterranean and Gujarat with the Turn of a Page: Picturing the Dimensions of Maritime Travel in an Extra-Illustrated Nineteenth-Century Book about India," Getty Research Journal, 2016, p. 242
  6. Baillargeon, C., "Témoignages de rivalité industrielle; La France et les photographies de grands travaux d’origine étrangère," Études Photographies, No. 17, 2005, pp 16-43
  7. Pouillon, F., Dictionnaire des Orientalistes de Langue Française, KARTHALA, 2008, pp 23-24
  8. Irini Apostolou, "Photographes français et locaux en Orient méditerranéen au xixe siècle Quelques cas de collaboration," Bulletin du Centre de recherche français à Jérusalem, Vol. 24, 2013
  9. Hannavy, J., Encyclopedia of Nineteenth-Century Photography, Routledge, 2013, p. 73
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