Gebouw aan het meer van Agnano nabij Napels, Italië 1863 - 1914

Giorgio Sommer made this photograph of a building by Lake Agnano, near Naples, Italy. Though seemingly straightforward, the albumen silver print process through which it was made is anything but. The image begins as a glass plate negative. This is then contact-printed onto a sheet of paper coated with albumen—that’s egg white!—containing light-sensitive silver salts. The resulting print has a distinctive, smooth surface, and a wide tonal range, perfect for capturing the bright Italian light. Sommer operated a commercial studio, catering to tourists eager to take home views like this. Consider the labor involved: from the photographer lugging his equipment, to the studio assistants preparing the albumen paper. The print represents a moment in the history of photography when it was both a cutting-edge technology and a labor-intensive craft. This reminds us that every image, even one that seems effortlessly captured, is the product of skilled work and specific materials.