Ruiterstandbeeld van Frederik de Grote, Unter den Linden, Berlijn 1868 - 1870

This photograph of the equestrian statue of Frederick the Great was made in Berlin by Johann Friedrich Stiehm. It's an albumen print, a common process in the 19th century. The photograph itself is a commodity, and the image it depicts, a Prussian king, shows the close relationship between production and power. The albumen process involved coating paper with egg white and then a silver nitrate solution, making it light-sensitive. The negative was then placed on the paper and exposed to sunlight. The resulting print has a smooth surface and a wide tonal range, capturing the details of the statue and the surrounding architecture. The photograph’s materiality—its reliance on both skilled darkroom work and mass manufacture – highlights its place in a rapidly industrializing society. Stiehm’s photograph reminds us that even seemingly straightforward images are the result of complex social and economic forces. It encourages us to look beyond the image itself and consider the labor, materials, and technologies that made it possible.