French photographer and publisher
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.
Selected images of Egyptian People
Selected images of the Suez Canal project
References.
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