Gezicht op een hal met pleisterbeelden c. 1890 - 1900

Johann Pörtzgen made this photograph, titled *Gezicht op een hal met pleisterbeelden*, using an albumen print, a popular process in the late 19th century, that gave the image its distinctive sepia tone. Look closely, and you'll see that the photo shows a gallery filled with plaster casts. Now, plaster is humble stuff. It’s made by heating gypsum, a widely available mineral, then mixing it with water to create a slurry that can be poured into molds. The resulting casts could then be sold as relatively inexpensive versions of prized sculptures. This was an early form of mass production. In fact, this democratization of classical sculpture through plaster replicates reflects a broader trend that emerged with industrialization: the making of art accessible to a wider audience through mechanical means. It reminds us that the story of art is also the story of labor, access, and social aspiration.