Gezicht op Faubourg Saint-Marcel in Laon, Frankrijk before 1896

This is an early photograph by Jules Royer, depicting the Faubourg Saint-Marcel in Laon, France. It would have been made using a glass negative, and printed on paper coated with a light-sensitive emulsion. Though photography is now fully integrated in the fine arts, this was not always the case. Early photography required skill and precision, yet was viewed by many as a form of industrial production. Think about the amount of labor involved in creating a photograph like this: mining the materials for the glass and chemicals, manufacturing the equipment, and the darkroom work required for its development. Photography democratized image-making, no longer requiring the same level of hand skill as painting or drawing. This photograph captures a specific time and place, but it also represents a shift in our relationship to image-making, and the means by which it is produced and consumed. Considering the material and processes involved in its creation allows us to appreciate its historical and cultural significance.