Figure 1.--This photograph was entiteled 'Ecole Arabe' -- Arab school. It depicted an Islamic school in French colonial Algiers, presumably a madrasa. The photograph was probably taken about 1890. The biys wear a variety of Arab garments, but they all wear the same cap with a tassle--apparently a kind of school cap. (We are not sure what the caps were called, but they look like the caps European gentlemen wore with smoking jackets, a styl inspired by Arab dress.) Notice how small the class is. We think that these boys came from well-to-do families. The clas size suggests that most boys and virtually all girls recieved little if any schooling. The photographer was Alexandre Leroux. He was one of several westerners (mostly French) who left us the first fascinating photographic images of Arab society. The most striking aspect of Lerouz's photogaphy as well as the work of other early photographers in the Middle East is they show how backward the Arab world was. There is virtually no indication of modern technology. Any technology we see is technology introduced by the Europeans. Frenchman Alexandre Leroux was born in Beziers, located in southern France (1836). Leroux opened several photography studios in Algiers, including his premiere studio on Bab Azoum. He took portrairs, but was fascinted by Arab culture and began taking genre photographs. His photographs offer a rare glimpse into the lives of the people of Algiers and their rich cultural lives. There was a market for these images in France where people were fascinated with life in their colonies. He was a member of the Academie des Beaux-Arts d'Alger. He purchased the studio of Claude Portier at 14 rue Bab-Azoun, a fashionable Algiers street (1876). The Algiers-based photographer published his work monthly in parts over the course of 5 years, documenting the country's life and customs, professions and types, its principal cities, markets, and architecture in a variety of city and desert scenes. He produced numerous photographs of Algeria until his death (1912) when his sons continued selling his prints using his stamp. Many of Leroux's photos were published in France and after the turn-of-the 20th century as inexpensive postcards during the first half of the 20th century. Put your cirsor on the image to see the rest of the class. |
