Paviljoen Richelieu van het Louvre, Parijs 1887 - 1900

This is a photograph of the Paviljoen Richelieu of the Louvre in Paris, made by an anonymous photographer. The sepia tones and the albumen print process are immediately evocative. It's easy to imagine the photographer in the 19th century darkroom, carefully coating paper with egg whites and silver nitrate. The photograph's material qualities significantly shape our perception of the architecture. The stone and carvings of the Paviljoen Richelieu are rendered with a soft, almost dreamlike quality, a testament to the alchemical dance of light, chemistry, and time involved in the creation of this image. Beyond aesthetics, this photograph reflects a moment in the history of image-making. Photography was just beginning to transform how we document and understand the world, and to democratize art. No longer were images limited to the wealthy who could afford to commision a painting. It brings a new dimension to our appreciation of both the building and the medium of photography itself.