Kust van Torre del Greco 1861 - 1878

Editor: This is Ernest Eléonor Pierre Lamy's albumen print, "Coast of Torre del Greco," dating somewhere between 1861 and 1878. The figures give the scene a sense of scale, but I wonder about the everyday lives lived in the buildings across the water. What stands out to you? Curator: I immediately see the burgeoning tourism industry shaping photographic landscapes in the mid-19th century. Albumen prints, especially stereo views like this, were immensely popular souvenirs. The way the figures are posed—almost ethnographic in their positioning against the 'exotic' backdrop of Torre del Greco—tells us about how Italy, and Naples in particular, was being marketed to European travelers. It invites reflection about the photographer's role, the colonial gaze, and the popular romanticisation of specific destinations for an eager audience back home. Editor: So, it's less about the place itself, and more about how it was sold to outsiders? Are the resting figures also playing into this 'exotic' portrayal? Curator: Precisely! And consider the deliberate composition. Note how the ruined structures frame the neatly resting workers in the bottom left to the buildings in the far distance. It implies a hierarchy: the industrious northerners coming to observe, capture, and consume this seemingly timeless scene. Photography during this era contributed significantly to constructing, and at times, distorting perceptions of cultures and histories through highly produced imagery and specific circulation practices. Editor: That's a fascinating, slightly unsettling, layer I hadn’t considered. The photograph felt straightforward, but you’ve shown it's deeply embedded in the power dynamics of its time. Curator: It’s always crucial to unpack not just what is visible, but how it became visible, who benefits from that visibility, and whose story remains untold. Editor: I will definitely approach photography differently now! Thank you.