Fotoreproductie van een schilderij van Maria met Kind door Bartolomé Esteban Murillo before 1864

This is a photographic reproduction made by Hanns Hanfstaengl, sometime before 1885, of a painting by the Spanish artist Bartolomé Esteban Murillo, showing the Virgin Mary with the infant Christ. In nineteenth-century Europe, the fine arts were frequently reproduced as engravings or photographs. These reproductions were often presented in bound albums, allowing middle-class audiences to collect and display images of celebrated artworks from around the world. Hanfstaengl, who ran a successful printing business in Munich, was a pioneer in the new technology of photography, and his business helped spread knowledge of artworks like Murillo's Virgin and Child. The spread of reproductive technologies democratized access to art, but also introduced new questions about authenticity and value. The social and institutional history of art encompasses not just the creation of original works but the technological means by which they were disseminated. Catalogues, archives, and collections of photographs are indispensable resources for understanding the changing status of artworks over time.