Zaal met brozen in Museo di Napoli before 1879

Giorgio Sommer created this photograph titled 'Zaal met brozen in Museo di Napoli,' sometime between 1860 and 1890. Sommer, who lived and worked in Italy, captured a gallery filled with classical bronze sculptures. In the 19th century, photography became a powerful tool for documenting and disseminating cultural heritage. Sommer's work reflects a widespread interest in classical antiquity, which was often seen as the foundation of Western identity. These sculptures, with their idealized forms, evoke notions of beauty, power, and heroism and reinforce a Eurocentric vision of art history. Sommer's photograph offers an opportunity to reflect on who gets to be represented in art and whose stories are told. It invites us to consider the power dynamics inherent in the act of looking and remembering. What does it mean to preserve and celebrate certain aspects of history, while others remain unseen?