Gezicht op het Piazza Castello te Turijn, Italië 1864 - 1881

Giacomo Brogi made this photograph of the Piazza Castello in Turin, Italy, sometime in the mid-19th century. At the time, photography was still a relatively new medium, requiring meticulous chemical processes to produce an image on a treated surface. The sepia tones you see here are inherent to the process of early photography, as is the incredible level of detail. Notice the buildings’ ornate facades and the figures walking through the piazza; each element rendered with clarity. Consider the social context: photography allowed for the mass dissemination of images, democratizing representation in a way that was previously impossible. While painting and sculpture were largely available only to the elite, photography offered a means of capturing and sharing images of everyday life, including architecture, cityscapes, and the people who inhabited them. Brogi’s choice to capture this bustling scene reflects a shift in artistic focus, from the exclusive world of the wealthy to the broader realities of urban life. The photograph, like any artwork, is as much about the world it depicts as it is about the act of making.