Restanten van het Huis van Sallustius, Pompeï 1861 - 1878

Editor: So, here we have a photographic print from between 1861 and 1878, attributed to Ernest Eléonor Pierre Lamy. It’s called "Restanten van het Huis van Sallustius, Pompeï," or "Remains of the House of Sallust, Pompeii." It’s really interesting as an early example of archaeological photography. What catches your eye when you look at it? Curator: I immediately think about the materials involved – the stone that constituted the original building, now in ruins. But also the specific chemical process of the albumen print, how the artist-photographer mediated that material reality into an image that could be mass-produced and consumed. The act of making this photograph transforms the ruins into a commodity. Editor: Commodity? How so? Curator: Think about it. This is pre-mass tourism as we know it, right? These albumen prints allowed people to "visit" Pompeii from afar. They bought and collected them. This process turned a historical site into something you could possess, display, and circulate within a capitalist framework. Do you see how the physical ruins, the chemical processes, and social context of production are interwoven? Editor: I see what you mean. The actual stones, remnants of a lost civilization, are turned into something to be bought and sold, mediated by the photographic materials. The value shifts from historical significance to something more transactional. I didn't initially see the relationship of materials to commodity, and production, but this opens up a different perspective on these images! Curator: Exactly. And thinking about that broader production changes everything. It's not simply a documentary image; it's part of a complex system.