Strada St. Giovanni, Valletta 1859 - 1874

Editor: Looking at this, I’m immediately struck by how much labor it must have taken to construct those steps, all those precisely placed stones. Curator: Indeed. What you’re observing is "Strada St. Giovanni, Valletta," an albumen print made sometime between 1859 and 1874 by Sommer & Behles. Note the strong linear perspective, directing the viewer's gaze upwards along the receding steps. Editor: The way the street rises is definitely emphasized. Albumen was used to capture such sharp detail but what sort of experience are we seeing? It is almost too precise… Curator: The interplay of light and shadow creates a dynamic rhythm, animating the static architecture. The buildings' facades, although aged, speak to order and calculated geometry of urban design and Realism in photography as a whole. Editor: The very means of photography itself feels pertinent. Developing these prints wasn't immediate. The patience in construction, both of city and photograph. Do we know where the materials came from for all those steps? How many workers and resources were needed? Curator: That tension, between the subject, its medium, and time's effect on both, defines it. Note, too, the photographer's deliberate composition. Editor: Yes, because those figures on the steps make me wonder—do their stories factor into the grand scheme of the cityscape itself? Curator: These images of realism remind us, too, that perspective itself is socially constructed. But what kind of construction, materially, was needed for all of this… Editor: These are vital reminders that materiality encompasses not only physical objects but also cultural context. The prints preserve more than architecture; they encapsulate the echoes of those involved in this photograph. Curator: By dissecting its form, we enrich our understanding of space, culture, and aesthetic choices, just as an investigation of the laborers informs our understanding of place and craft.