Piazza della Signoria te Florence c. 1850 - 1880

This is a stereoscopic photograph of the Piazza della Signoria in Florence. It was made anonymously, sometime in the 19th century, using a process that allowed two images to be viewed together creating a 3D effect. This image offers a window into the social and cultural values of the time, which saw a boom in tourism. The creation of this image responded to a growing interest in travel and exploration. Photography became a tool for capturing and disseminating images of distant lands, cultures, and monuments, contributing to a sense of shared visual experience, as well as perpetuating a fascination with European art. By studying the history of photographic techniques, alongside the cultural context in which images were produced and consumed, we can gain a deeper appreciation of the role of art in shaping social attitudes. We might ask: what are the institutional and commercial factors that drove the production and distribution of images? What are the politics of representation, and whose perspectives are privileged or excluded?