Gezicht op Château Lafite Rothschild in Pauillac, Frankrijk before 1867

This book features a photograph of Château Lafite Rothschild in Pauillac, France, made by Alfred Danflou. The photograph itself, with its sepia tones, is interesting as a carefully calibrated chemical process, light-sensitive emulsions capture and fix an image. It’s a process of transforming reality into something collectible, ownable, and ultimately consumable as an image. The book containing the photograph is also an important artifact to consider. Bound together with a decorative frame, the image is presented as a precious object, to be handled with care. Consider the content of the photograph, which represents wealth and privilege through its depiction of a famous winery. The production of fine wine is dependent on both skilled labor and the natural world, yet here it is presented as a status symbol, further transformed through the mechanizations of photographic reproduction. Ultimately, this artwork prompts us to think about the relationship between art, industry, and the social hierarchies that they represent.