Details van de versiering op de eerste etage van het Palais de Rohan c. 1855 - 1857

Edouard Baldus made this albumen silver print, titled 'Details van de versiering op de eerste etage van het Palais de Rohan', sometime in the mid-19th century. The photograph depicts ornamentation on the first floor of the Palais de Rohan, probably plasterwork. Notice how Baldus has framed the details, cropping the image to isolate the motifs and emphasize the textures. Consider the labor involved in creating the ornamentation, a slow, skilled process of modelling and casting. Plasterwork like this was intended to impress and project power, especially to those familiar with the traditions of classical sculpture. Baldus himself was a master of the collotype, a photographic printing process that demanded exceptional skill and patience. So, in looking at this image, it’s interesting to consider the different kinds of work that it represents, from the original act of making the plasterwork, to the labor of capturing it with a camera. The image invites us to think about how photography can capture and communicate the value of hand-made work.