Gezicht op de crypte van de Chiesa di San Giovannello te Syracuse 1862 - 1876

This stereo card by Jean Andrieu shows the crypt of the Chiesa di San Giovannello in Syracuse. It's made through the wet collodion process, a 19th-century photographic technique. The process involved coating a glass plate with chemicals, exposing it in a camera while still wet, and then developing it immediately. Each print required laborious darkroom techniques and skilled labor. The albumen print gives a sepia tone that accentuates the crypt's rough stone walls, and arched ceiling. The stereo format creates a 3D effect, bringing you into the underground space. Note the altar, framed by a dark doorway. This image reflects the rise of photography as a commercial art form. Photographers like Andrieu capitalized on the public's desire for travel imagery, selling stereo cards as affordable souvenirs. By focusing on the process and the economic context, we can understand the complex cultural meanings embedded in this seemingly simple photograph, and challenge traditional boundaries between art and craft.