Strada della Abbondanza 19th-20th century

Giorgio Sommer produced this albumen print, "Strada della Abbondanza," in Italy, likely in the 1860s or 70s. It captures a street in Pompeii, the ancient Roman city frozen in time by the eruption of Mount Vesuvius. The image is more than just a record; it's a study in how we view the past. Photography in this era was often used to document and classify, fitting into a broader European project of exploration and control. Sommer’s work taps into this trend, presenting Pompeii as an organized, knowable space. Yet, the very act of photographing ruins implies a sense of loss, a meditation on the transience of civilization. Consider also the figures placed within the frame. They offer a sense of scale, but also subtly assert a contemporary presence, a claim on this historical space. To understand this work fully, we might turn to archaeological reports, travelogues of the period, and histories of photography itself. Each offers a lens through which to view Sommer’s image and its place in the cultural landscape of 19th-century Europe.