Palazzo Madama e Reale, Torino c. 1860 - 1890

This albumen print showing the Palazzo Madama e Reale in Turin was produced by Edizione Brogi, a firm known for their Italian views. Photography, emerging in the 19th century, offered a new way to capture and disseminate images, moving away from the hand-rendered qualities of painting and drawing. The albumen process involved coating paper with egg white, making it sensitive to light. The resulting sepia tones and softened details give the image a distinct aesthetic. What’s interesting here is how photography democratized image production, yet its subjects often reinforced social hierarchies: architecture, monuments, and wealthy people. But the amount of work required to produce a photographic print, from preparing the chemicals to printing the image, involved skilled labor. Considering the materials, making, and historical context of images like these challenges distinctions between art, craft, and industry, and invites us to understand the social implications of visual culture.