New! Mount Tabor – Transfiguration Site – Beautiful Vintage Photo – Archival Quality

In northern Isreal, about 11 miles west of the Sea of Galilee, is Mount Tabor. It is regarded as the site of the Transfiguration of Christ. “Jesus took Peter, James, and John and led them up a high mountain apart” it says in Mark 9:2, and this hill is certainly solitary and apart. Once there, Jesus’s “clothes became dazzling white, such as no fuller on earth could bleach them. Then Elijah appeared to them along with Moses, and they were conversing with Jesus.”

Mount Tabor has a long biblical and military history. It is first mentioned in the Bible in Joshua 19:22, as border of three tribes: Zebulun, Issachar and Naphtali. The Old Testament also cites it as the place of a battle between Hebrews and Canaanites. In the Second Temple period, the Jews would light beacons on the top of Mount Tabor to signify Jewish holy days and the beginning of new months. During the Crusades, the hill traded hands between the Christians and the Muslims. In 1799, Napolean, with an army of 3000, defeated a Turkish army of 35,000 there.

The mountain rises up about 1500 feet from the flat plain around it. Today it has two Christian monasteries and one Catholic Church at the top. For centuries, it has attracted many pilgrims.

We think this photo used the technique of Photochrom, an early color photo process. It is the work of the French studio Maison Bonfils, who were located in Beirut, and likely taken between 1880 and 1890. For decades, the studio provided the West with many photographs of the Middle East. They were a family business. This picture was probably taken either by Félix or Lydie Bonfils, or their son, Adrien.

** IMPORTANT ** THE IMAGE IS SMALLER THAN THE PAPER! There is a blank border around the image. Approximately 0.5" wide for 5x7, 1.3" for 8.5x11, 1.6" for 11x14, and 1.75" for 13x17 and 16x20. For the two poster sizes, 18x24 and 24x36, we use 0.5" borders. We do this because the ratio of the rectangle of the art almost never matches the rectangle of the paper, and if it did happen to match one size, it would not match the others. Most fine art printers do this because otherwise they’d have to crop the art or warp it to make it fit the paper. The border looks good. It gives the picture a faux matted appearance.

There is almost always a little more border either on the left-right sides, or the top-bottom, depending on whether the ratio of the art is wider or taller than the paper.

We make Archival Quality fine art prints:

– Acid-free paper

– Archival pigments

– Cardboard backer for sizes 11x14 and less.

– Above story of the art

– Enclosed in a tight-fitting, crystal-clear bag.

– Rated to last 200+ years without fading if kept dry and out of the direct sun.

Thanks for your interest!

+JMJ+

Sue & John

Lincoln, Nebraska

You might also enjoy original Catholic Art and Jewelry by me, Sue Kouma Johnson, here on Etsy at www.Etsy.com/shop/TreeOfHeaven

Also, check out our Catholic Quote shop, where we are pairing authentic quotes from Saints with Art: www.Etsy.com/shop/CatholicQuote

“In order to communicate the message entrusted to her by Christ, the Church needs art.”

~ St. Pope John Paul II

Original image is out-of-copyright. Descriptive text and any image alterations (hence the whole new image) © by Sue Kouma Johnson – Classic Catholic Art.