Microscopische opname van coscinodiscus-diatomeeën, 190 keer vergroot 1887 - 1888

Marinus Pieter Filbri created this magnified photograph of coscinodiscus-diatomeeën using photographic processes that were cutting-edge at the time. This level of magnification was only possible thanks to advancements in both microscopy and photography, each depending on industrial innovation. The photograph's materiality – its sepia tones and the texture of the paper – speak to the history of photographic techniques. It began as an intellectual pursuit, and it became something of an obsession among well-to-do hobbyists. But photography would soon be a tool in wider social projects, from documentation of social inequality, to cataloguing the natural world. The image invites us to consider the relationship between science, art, and technology in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. It pushes us to appreciate the beauty of the microscopic world, and how photography can make visible what is otherwise hidden from view. It asks us to see photographic prints not only as a document, but as a handcrafted object.