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(ORIENTALISM — ALGERIA) LEHNERT & LANDROCK; BOUGAULT
(active 1880s-1910s)
Suite of 29 stunning panoramic photographs by Lehnert & Landrock and Bougault of exotic scenes in
Algeria
.With picturesque views of oases, desert caravans, encampments, topographic scenes, men
praying, and more. Sepia-toned silver prints, 8¾x22¾ inches (22.2x57.8 cm.), most with
handwritten notations, in pencil, on verso identifying the location or scene, and 22 with a small
Bougault blind stamp in the lower right corner. Circa 1890-1915
[20,000/30,000]
This rare suite of single-frame panoramic photographs richly illustrates the exoticism, rituals,
customs and landscape of Algeria at a time when international travel was limited to the very
wealthy or adventurous.
In the early 1900s “Orientalism,” an idealized visual idiom that drew inspiration from the genre
of Pictorialist photography, was introduced.The artistic community of European photographers
who worked in North Africa routinely shot images that explored indigenous people as romantic
figures. These same photographers apparently swapped or traded negatives. In this way, a clear
understanding of authorship can be elusive. Primary photographers include the partnership of
Rudolf Lehnert (Czech, 1878-1948) and Ernst Heinrich Landrock (Swiss, 1878-1966), in which
Lehnert produced evocative photographs of Algeria andTunisia; and Alexandre Bougault (active
1890s-1910s), a French editeur (publisher) who was also known for his stunning photographs
in which subjects are beautifully arranged and lit.
According to Ken Jacobson’s
Odaliques & Arabesques: Orientalist Photography 1839-1925
, “Some
of Lehnert’s dramatic desert compositions are very similar to scenes from the emerging early
cinema.” Dramatic views of men praying, bird’s eye pictures of Algerian cities, such as Biskra,
picturesque views at a palm-tree lined oasis, and beautifully composed scenes of caravans and
encampments figure prominently in the group.Although photographers employed high aesthetic
standards, each was also capitalizing on a growing trade of commercial imagery, in which pictures
were reproduced on postcards, newspaper, magazines, and travel books.
A photographer required considerable technical mastery required to successfully shoot in north
Africa’s challenging physical environment. Cameras were large and cumbersome; and the
laborious act of processing and developing negatives occurred immediately, at the site, generally
in a developing tent. Many of the photographs required careful planning in relation to
compositional arrangement and the special qualities of natural light.
The original collector of these remarkable photographs was Theodore Stanichet, who was born
in France in the early 1840s. Stanichet himself was a remarkable character and is described by
family members as “a sailor,”“an adventurer,”“a world traveler,”“a dancing master,”“a fencing
master” and “a saloon keeper in Brooklyn, NY.” He traveled to Algeria, notably Biskra, where
he apparently acquired the panoramas. The suite of photographs was given to Angelica (Gail)
LaPasta,Theodore’s granddaughter-in-law, as a wedding gift in 1910; by descent to her family.