Bandol 1859 - 1861

This photograph, Bandol, was made by Edouard Baldus, using a process called waxed paper negative. This was a relatively early photographic technique, demanding patience and skill. Notice how Baldus has chosen to emphasize the rough textures of the built environment. Look at the way he captures the coarse masonry, the worn rooftops, and the piles of timber that line the shore. This aesthetic interest aligns Baldus with a wider tendency in 19th-century art and design. Think of the Arts and Crafts movement, with its emphasis on handmade qualities, and the dignity of labor. While photography is a mechanical medium, this image bears witness to the work of many hands. Not only Baldus’ own, as he painstakingly coaxed an image from light-sensitive paper, but also those of the unseen laborers who built the town and worked its docks. They were constructing a new world, one brick, one boat, one photograph at a time. And so this picture participates in the grand project of 19th-century industrialization.