Braccio Nuovo (nieuwe vleugel), Museo Chiaramonti, Vaticaanstad 1861 - 1878

This stereoscopic photograph shows the Braccio Nuovo in the Vatican, and was taken by Ernest Eléonor Pierre Lamy. These images were made using a twin-lens camera, which allowed for the creation of a three-dimensional effect when viewed through a stereoscope. Photography in the 19th century was a complex process involving a deep understanding of chemistry and optics. Wet collodion, likely used in this photograph, was especially laborious and required coating a glass plate with chemicals, exposing it in the camera while still wet, and then developing it immediately. What's so fascinating is the way these processes made images available for mass consumption. Suddenly, anyone could have a keepsake of the Vatican collections, irrespective of whether they could visit in person. Photography democratized access to art and architecture, and created entirely new audiences for visual culture. It collapses distinctions between tourism, documentation, and art.