Mogelijk afgietsel van een deurklopper met Venus, twee dolfijnen en twee figuren 1850 - 1900

This photograph by Adolphe Giraudon captures a plaster cast of a door knocker, presenting Venus with dolphins and cherubic figures. The choice of plaster is significant. It is a material easily molded, perfect for replicating intricate details, and relatively inexpensive – making classical art accessible to a broader audience. Plaster casts like these played a crucial role in art education during the 19th century. Students often studied and copied them as a way to learn classical forms and techniques without access to original sculptures. Giraudon, as a photographer, further democratizes the form, transforming a 3D object into a 2D image that could circulate even more widely. Consider the labor involved. Skilled artisans would have been needed to create the original door knocker, and then more hands to produce the plaster cast. The photograph flattens this process, but it’s important to remember the skilled labor embedded in the object, and how it connects art making to wider networks of production and consumption.