Gezicht op Mantes-la-Jolie met de oude brug over de Seine 1898

This is an early photograph by Delizy, capturing a view of Mantes-la-Jolie with the old bridge over the Seine. The sepia tones speak to the chemical processes at work. Early photography involved carefully coating a substrate - in this case paper - with light-sensitive compounds. Photography transformed the way people saw and documented the world. The level of detail in the architecture and landscape reveals photography's unique capacity to capture the real world. But of course, these images were carefully composed and produced. Consider how the photographer carefully controls the exposure and development to achieve a certain aesthetic effect. These technical choices demonstrate the early debates around photography as an art form: was it a mechanical reproduction, or a form of artistic expression? Either way, this photograph offers a glimpse into a rapidly changing world, where technology and art were increasingly intertwined.