
Temple de Dakkeh, Naos
1852 · Calotype
6 5/8 × 8 5/8" (16.8 × 21.9 cm)
Museum of Modern Art

Maxime Du Camp was a French writer, photographer, and traveler whose work bridged literature and visual documentation in the mid-nineteenth century. He is known for his pioneering photographic expeditions, particularly his 1849, 1851 journey through Egypt and the Levant with Gustave Flaubert, which produced some of the earliest systematic photographic records of ancient monuments. Du Camp's printed albums of these travels established the photographic book as a serious medium for cultural and archaeological inquiry. His dual practice as a prolific author and innovator in architectural and landscape photography shaped the emerging aesthetics of documentary imagery in France.
Source: Moma Bulk 2026 05 04 · Trust score: 92% · Updated 25d ago