Camille Enlart Photography Exhibit

Story Natural
Country
Cyprus
Year
2018
Storyteller
Dr Rita Severis, Chief Executive
Share:
Overview

This project proposes an exhibition and the printing an album by the archaeologist and art historian Camille Enlart. This is the first complete photographic archive of all the monuments on the island of Cyprus and the oldest. All photographs are inscribed with information on the back in Enlart’s handwriting.
 

This collection will be exhibited and accompanied by an album containing reproductions of all 550 photographs with a short introduction. Special educational programs will be prepared for children. There will be lectures, seminars and workshops and the exhibition will remain open 2 months.
This is the largest and oldest collection of photographs of monuments and views of the island (550), dated 1896 and 1901. They have been bought lately by CVAR so that this treasure returns to the island.
The photographs represent an everlasting document of the historical monuments and wealth of Cyprus, to be enjoyed by all Cypriots and the international public. The photographic exhibit and publication of photos will present the monuments of the Byzantine, Gothic, Ottoman and colonial periods, which coexist seamlessly side-by-side in Cyprus, as well as scenes of everyday life on the island. As the oldest and most complete collection on the subject, students on the island and from abroad have already approached the CVAR in the hope of studying the photographs from the architectural, historical and artistic perspectives. The photographs present churches of small orders that were in Cyprus, such as Franciscans, Carmelites, Nestorians, Maronites, and provide detailed views of these monuments – especially their interiors, which have not survived to date

European Dimension

The photographs contain monuments that have not survived to the 20th century and are perhaps the only visual documentation of these buildings. They also present special features of various monuments which have since been destroyed or altered. It will be the first time that Cypriots and the international public can acquire an album with the wealth of Cyprus, be it Byzantine, Gothic, Ottoman or Colonial.
As stated above, these photos have never been seen before and all photographs are inscribed with information on the back in Enlart’s handwriting.