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.

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.

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. 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.

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. He also operated a floating darkroom in Port Said in the 1860s and 70s, of which a photograph survives. 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. At a later date, Arnoux was in partnership with the British-Italian photographer, Antonio Beato.

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."

Works

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.Hannavy, J., ''Encyclopedia of Nineteenth-Century Photography,'' Routledge, 2013, p. 73

Selected images of Egyptian People

File:Hippolyte Arnoux - Jeune fille fellah - Egypte vers 1880.jpg, Young Woman, Egypt, Studio portrait, 1880
File:COLLECTIE TROPENMUSEUM Studioportret van Egyptische vrouwen en kinderen TMnr 60039412.jpg, Egyptian women and children, c. 1890
File:COLLECTIE TROPENMUSEUM Studioportret van twee gesluierde vrouwen TMnr 60039423.jpg, Two Egyptian Women, studio portrait, 1865-1890
File:Arnoux, Hippolyte; Zangaki, C. G. Bédouins chameliers de Palestine. 1893.jpg, Bedouin Cameleers of Palestine, 1893
File:COLLECTIE TROPENMUSEUM De piramides van Gizeh TMnr 60022554.jpg, The Pyramids of Gizah, 1870-1900
File:COLLECTIE TROPENMUSEUM Drinkplaats met kamelen bij de piramides van Gizeh TMnr 60022556.jpg, Drinking place with camels, near the Pyramids of Gizah, 1870-1900

Selected images of the Suez Canal project

File:COLLECTIE TROPENMUSEUM Doorvaart in het Suez kanaal in Egypte circa 1880. TMnr 60009477.jpg, Doorvaart in the Suez Canal, c. 1880
File:COLLECTIE TROPENMUSEUM Foto van getekende landkaart met illustratieve foto`s van plaatsen aan het Suezkanaal. TMnr 60002280.jpg, Montage of images of the Suez works, c. 1870
File:COLLECTIE TROPENMUSEUM Een baggermolen diept het Suez-kanaal uit. TMnr 60002285.jpg, A Dredging Mill at Work, c. 1870
File:COLLECTIE TROPENMUSEUM Gezicht op Suez TMnr 60000060.jpg, View of Suez, 1865-1890
File:COLLECTIE TROPENMUSEUM Gezicht over de haven van Port Said bij de monding van het Suezkanaal TMnr 60019635.jpg, View of Port Said, at the mouth of the Suez Canal
File:COLLECTIE TROPENMUSEUM Enkele vrachtschepen varen door het Suezkanaal in Egypte circa 1880. TMnr 60009481.jpg, Cargo ships make their way through the Suez Canal, c. 1880

See also

* History of photography
* List of Orientalist artists
* Orientalism

References

External links

Anglo-American Name Authority File, s.v. "Arnoux, Hippolyte", LC Control Number nr 98007151
cited 6 February 2006.
Canal Maritime de Suez: map of route of Suez Canal, and views of principal points along the route, local Egyptian officials and major figures of the canal constuction [sic
/nowiki>, Suez, Egypt.] Hippolyte Arnoux. Canadian Centre for Architecture, cited 24 April 2020.
*''Hippolyte Arnoux: photographe de l'union des mers.'' Exhibition catalogue. Paris: Centre historique des archives nationales, 1996.
Union List of Artists Names, s.v. "Arnoux, Hippolyte"
cited 6 February 2006.
Vintage Photography - Hippolyte ArnouxArnoux, Hippolyte (ca. 1880) ''Various photos in Egypt of people on camels, the Pyramids and the Sphinx''
QUT Digital Collections
Arnoux, Hippolyte (ca. 1880) ''Photos of women of Point Said - Egypt.''
QUT Digital Collections
Arnoux, Hippolyte (ca. 1880) ''Photos Port Said - Egypt.''
QUT Digital Collections

{{DEFAULTSORT:Arnoux, Hippolyte
19th-century French photographers
Documentary photographers
French photojournalists
Year of birth uncertain
Year of death uncertain
Photography in Egypt
Pioneers of photography
Pioneers of photography in Egypt