The image of the East in 19th century France: Photography projects and their impact the writers and poets of the times

Photography is, from its beginning, considered as the ideal auxiliary for t ravellers. The pioneers, who see it as a documentary medium, undertake an e ncyclopedic type of inventory. But the views they bring back bestow on the ruins a ghostly hue; they act as an inducement to trace a way into the past and drive to hermeneutics. When photographical practice moves towards "typ ical" scenes, literary or illustrated publications flourish. In the process of building a collective image of the East in the nineteenth century, phot ography proves to be permeated by cultural shades, displaying them accordin g to its specificity.