Deur van de Dom te Pisa, Italië 1860 - 1881

This photograph of the doors of the Pisa Cathedral in Italy was taken by Giacomo Brogi, sometime in the second half of the 19th century. Brogi worked with a process that was still relatively new in his day – photography. The image’s sepia tone, a result of the developing process, gives it an antique feel. Yet, this picture is not just a straightforward representation of the doors. It’s a mediation, both artistic and technical. It shows the doors’ elaborate relief carvings, the product of skilled stonemasons, rendered in a light that flattens the texture. Consider the labor involved in both the original carving and Brogi’s photographic reproduction. Each process demanded specialized knowledge and time. By capturing this image, Brogi not only documented the doors, but also transformed them into an object of wider consumption, a commodity in a burgeoning tourist economy. Ultimately, Brogi’s photograph invites us to reflect on the layers of craft, labor, and technology embedded in our experience of art.