The Parthenon (c. 1907–20): Art, History and Details

The Parthenon (c. 1907–20) is in the Cleveland Museum of Art collection. The museum's creator attribution is Frédéric Boissonnas (Swiss, 1858–1944).

The work and its context

The museum's open-access catalogue describes the work:

Originally dedicated to the ancient Greek goddess Athena, this building—which still stands today—was completed in 438 B.C. Frédéric Boissonas was a Swiss photographer who amassed enough images on several trips to Greece to publish 14 photo albums on its landscape and archeological sites. The Greek government used his images to attract tourists and raise the country’s image abroad.

Object facts

• Title: The Parthenon
• Date: c. 1907–20
• Creator attribution: Frédéric Boissonnas (Swiss, 1858–1944)
• Culture: France
• Type: Photograph
• Technique: mammoth carbon print
• Dimensions: Image: 40 x 57.8 cm (15 3/4 x 22 3/4 in.)
• Collection: PH - Misc. 19th Century
• Department: Photography
• Accession number: 2021.56

A detail from the museum

In the early Middle Ages, this Greek temple became a church and in the 1400s, a mosque.

Collection credit

Gift of Michael Mattis and Judith Hochberg

View the collection record

See the museum's photographs and full catalogue entry. Catalogue text is reproduced from the Cleveland Museum of Art's open-access data, with HTML formatting removed. This object and its supplied image are designated CC0.