Gezicht op de Torre dell'Orologio vanaf een balkon van de San Marco in Venetië before 1898

This view of the Torre dell'Orologio in Venice, seen from the balcony of San Marco, was captured through photography, a process that chemically manipulates light to create an image. Photography, although seemingly immediate, is very much about labor. Early photography required meticulous attention to detail: preparing the light-sensitive materials, precisely timing the exposure, and carefully developing the image. This print, made from a negative, shows a moment in time but belies the labor that went into its making. Photography democratized image-making, making it more accessible than painting. This shift had social implications as well. As photography became more widespread, it changed how people saw themselves and the world around them, offering new ways to document, remember, and represent.