Gezicht op zeilschepen in een water in Nantes 1860 - 1900

This photograph depicts a view of sailing ships in Nantes, though the photographer remains unknown. It was made using the 19th-century process of albumine print, a technique that involved coating paper with egg white and silver nitrate to create a light-sensitive surface. The warm sepia tone and soft focus is a direct result of these materials. The image evokes a sense of a bustling harbor, full of ships with their rigging creating intricate lines against the sky. The choice of photography as a medium is itself significant. Photography emerged alongside industrialization, and became a way to record and represent the changing world, including maritime activities that were crucial to trade and commerce. Consider the labor involved in building and sailing these ships, and in the creation of the photograph itself. By attending to these processes, we gain a richer understanding of the image, and challenge distinctions between the realms of fine art, craft, and industrial production.