Quai de Montebello 1865 - 1869

Charles Marville captured this photograph, Quai de Montebello, using the collodion process, a real innovation at the time. Consider the labor involved: from preparing the glass plate to meticulously developing the image in a darkroom, photography was a laborious craft. The final sepia tone, achieved through chemical processes, lends a sense of nostalgia to this urban scene, but think about the labor behind it. Marville was commissioned to document the streets of Paris before Haussmann’s radical renovations. In that context, this image goes beyond mere documentation. It becomes a testament to a disappearing world, a record of the lives and labor embedded in these buildings and streets. By focusing on the material and the making of this photograph, we recognize it as more than just a picture. It's a cultural artifact, a product of labor, and a poignant reminder of a city in transformation.