Gezicht op Château de Mesmin en omgeving in Saint-André-sur-Sèvre, Frankrijk before 1888

This print, depicting the Château de Mesmin in Saint-André-sur-Sèvre, France, was made by Jules Robuchon sometime in the late 19th or early 20th century. It's a photograph, printed on paper, part of a series titled “Landscapes and Monuments of Poitou”, reflecting the expansion of photographic technologies. Consider the social context: photography was becoming more accessible, yet still required specialized knowledge and equipment. Robuchon, through his photographic work, contributes to the visual record of architecture and landscape, capturing the aesthetic and cultural values associated with these sites. The very act of photographing and reproducing images like this speaks to the labor involved in documentation. The print invites us to consider how new methods of production democratize art and representation, moving away from the unique crafted object to the multiple produced image. This challenges the traditional hierarchies of art, placing value on images for their accessibility and documentary power.