The Ruins of Palmyra

This painting shows a city in ruins, the ruins of Palmyra. Palmyra (city of palm trees) is the name that the Romans gave to Thadmor, an oasis in the Syrian Desert, north of Damascus.

The traces of habitation in this area date back to the Paleolithic, the site itself has been inhabited for about 4000 years. This oasis was an important and safe city on the trade route between east and west. The influence of the Roman Empire, which included Anatolia from the first to the third centuries, can be seen mainly in the architecture of Palmyra: the temples, the colonnades and the theatre. After Palmyra was destroyed, it was renamed Zenobia, after the queen who reigned there from 267 to 272. After some military campaigns, she claimed Anatolia as her own, as well as Egypt, which was an important area for Roman grain supply. The Romans, of course, retaliated, and they retook the occupied cities and destroyed Palmyra in 272.

In 1678, the ruins were discovered during an English expedition; in 1691 the English visited again, bringing the painter G. Hofstede van Essen: the artist of this painting. The painting clearly shows some remains of Palmyra; the monumental Temple of Baal on the left, the colonnade, and the Arab Fortress on the right. In the front, you can see the painter himself.

Western historians mainly focused on the Roman character of Palmyra, and ignored the powerful survival of the local religion (Baal), cult and language. The University of Amsterdam has always been very interested in the origins of this painting. We know it used to be part of a donation by the merchant-collector Gerardus van Papenbroeck in 1743; which is what the Latin inscription refers to.

Since 1980, Palmyra is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. As a result of the Syrian Civil War, it has been on UNESCO’s Red List since February 2013. IS also destroyed large parts of the city. In March 2016 the city was retaken by the Syrian Army.

It would be great if MuseumCamp would help to highlight the non-western elements in this work. I truly hope that the MuseumCampers will also use the available digital information on this work!

 

Subject by Marian Schilder, Head of Exhibitions at Allard Pierson Museum: