Détail de la façade orientale du palais des nonnes à Uxmal (Yucatan)

Claude-Joseph-Désiré Charnay was the first photographer to produce a substantial survey of ancient Maya sites in the Yucatan, most of them little known, engulfed by jungle, and difficult to access. When his photographs were shown in Paris in 1861, French photography critic Ernest Lacan wrote, “Photography covers the world, searching and finding everywhere beautiful objects for the study of artists and scholars. Soon there will not be a corner of the world that has not been explored by photographers. Honor be to the courageous, resolute and talented men who dedicate their energies to such work.”