On the Giza Plateau in Egypt can be seen a very late 19th Century view of the Great Sphinx of Giza. Note the scale of the Sphinx with the people standing atop its’ paw at front right. Photographer Franz Goerke most likely took this photograph in the Fall of 1898, when he is known to have photographed (and published in 1899) a view of the Great Pyramid of Giza while on pilgrimage to the Holy Land for the inauguration of the Church of the Redeemer in Jerusalem.

The Great Sphinx of Giza is a limestone statue of a reclining sphinx, a mythical creature with the head of a human and the body of a lion. Facing directly from west to east, it stands on the Giza Plateau on the west bank of the Nile in Giza, Egypt. The face of the Sphinx appears to represent the pharaoh Khafre. The original shape of the Sphinx was cut from bedrock, and has since been restored with layers of limestone blocks. It measures 73 m (240 ft) long from paw to tail, 20 m (66 ft) high from the base to the top of the head and 19 m (62 ft) wide at its rear haunches.

The Sphinx is the oldest known monumental sculpture in Egypt and one of the most recognizable statues in the world. The archaeological evidence suggests that it was created by ancient Egyptians of the Old Kingdom during the reign of Khafre (c. 2558–2532 BC). -Wikipedia (2024) continues…

Franz Goerke: 1856-1931

The following is a brief Wikipedia summary of the editor and publishers involvement with Die Kunst in der Photographie:

Between 1897 and 1908, Goerke published 66 independent art sheets under the name “Die Kunst in der Photographie,” in which images by amateur photographers such as Hugo Henneberg and Alfred Stieglitz were published. Looking back, Rolf H. Krauss wrote about these art sheets: “This publication may well be the most important and valuable documentation of art photography in the German language but, because of its rarity, has remained virtually unknown.” From 1897 to 1903, six issues were published per year. From 1904 to 1907, the art sheets were published quarterly. The last year included eight independent issues. The publications were not bound, but were held together with thin cardboard. The art sheets contained a comparison of text and images in the front section. In the back part there are only the large-format heliogravures, double-chromatic gum prints and oil prints that are characteristic of the art photography movement. Goerke’s foreword states that the content of the first year was dedicated to the Camera Club in Vienna, the Berlin clubs , the Photo Club in Paris, the Association de Belge de Photographie and the Linked Ring . A lively exchange between the clubs was important to Goerke. -Wikipedia (2025)  continues…