1178 Napoli c. 1893 - 1903

Giorgio Sommer captured this view of Naples using photography, a process grounded in chemistry and optics. The albumen print gives a sharp image, due to the careful coating of paper with albumen from eggs. What I find fascinating is how the photographic process mirrors the rapid changes happening in Naples at the time. Just as the photographer meticulously prepared the materials, the city's layout and social fabric were being reconfigured. The photograph captures a moment of transition, with horse-drawn carriages sharing the streets with early trams, signaling new forms of labor and mobility. Consider the labor involved: from the photographer with his camera to the people who made the trams and tended to the horses. This image isn't just a pretty picture, it's a document of a society caught between tradition and modernity, craft and industry, all rendered in light-sensitive silver.