Groep mensen rond een eettafel 1856 - 1861

This stereograph, likely made in the later 19th century by James Elliott, is a photograph printed on cardstock. The photographic process itself had only been around for a few decades at that point, and was gaining popularity as a form of both artistic expression and documentation. The double image gives a three-dimensional effect when viewed through a stereoscope, and was a popular form of entertainment, like an early form of virtual reality. The illusion is compelling, as it captures a bourgeois family at dinner with their beloved dog. The setting is captured in great detail, with the trappings of domestic life that were desired by many at the time. What is fascinating is the democratization of image-making during that period, and how that was received by the public. With new technologies like photography becoming popular, traditional artistic forms like painting were suddenly in competition with the rise of image based consumer culture. The result changed the nature of fine art, shifting its focus to more conceptual considerations.