Introduction: Revisiting Palestine Illustrated

This chapter introduces the photographic collection of Frank Scholten (1881–1942), a Dutch photographer who documented Palestine extensively during the early British Mandate period. Scholten’s project, aimed at producing an “illustrated Bible,” instead created a visual archive that captured the daily lives, religious practices, and emerging modernity in Palestine amid competing national identities. His work, which is notable for its interdisciplinary approach that combines theology, anthropology, and historical geography, also highlights Dutch perceptions of the Holy Land shaped by biblical Orientalism. The chapter addresses methodological challenges related to archival silences and highlights Scholten’s unique perspective, including the influence of his homosexuality and conversion to Catholicism. This collection offers insights into the socio-political transformations that took place in Palestine during the transition from Ottoman to British colonial rule.