Menton gezien vanaf het strand c. 1886 - 1896

This photograph, titled 'Menton gezien vanaf het strand', was taken by Henry Pauw van Wieldrecht, using the chemical processes of early photography. In this image, the textures of the rocky beach and the vegetation on the hillside behind the buildings and beach are vividly rendered. This is an early method of fixing an image in time, and it involves a certain amount of labor: the preparing of plates, the timing of exposures, the mixing of developing solutions. The choice of photography as a medium in itself is significant. Unlike painting, which was still considered a higher art form, photography was more closely linked to scientific and industrial processes. Photography democratized image-making. It allowed for the mass production of images and the dissemination of visual information on an unprecedented scale. Consider how photography has influenced art and visual culture. It challenges the traditional hierarchy between fine art and other forms of visual representation.