Gezicht op de Porte Désilles te Nancy before 1896

Editor: Here we have an albumen print from before 1896, titled "Gezicht op de Porte Désilles te Nancy," showing a stately city gate. I find the level of detail captured using this photographic process remarkable. What’s your perspective on this piece? Curator: Well, I look at the material conditions that allowed this image to exist. The albumen print, a process involving coating paper with egg white, was a widely adopted technology. But think about the labor involved, not just in its creation, but in the raising of chickens, the industrial production of photographic paper. Editor: I see, it’s not just about the artistic skill, but the whole system behind it. How did the print-making process impact how cityscapes were depicted at the time? Curator: Precisely! This is neoclassicism expressed through photography, with geometry being a vital object, but one facilitated by advances in chemistry and mass production. This photograph documented urban spaces, which served to categorize and display for colonial expansion of territories around the world Editor: It’s interesting how the means of production can shift our understanding of the subject. Does considering albumen prints as industrial objects change your feelings about photographs from that time period? Curator: Absolutely. Understanding the albumen printing process reveals it’s as much a document of 19th-century industrial capabilities as it is a view of a specific monument. The consumption and distribution of these images further reinforces this link. Editor: That’s a very different way of seeing it than I expected. I appreciate the insight into how materiality shapes the meaning of art. Curator: And I appreciate you recognizing the interconnectedness of art, industry, and social structures.