Fotoreproductie van een schilderij van een gezicht op de Dam te Amsterdam door Jan Ekels I 1885 - 1893

This is a photographic reproduction made by Henri Frederic Oelrichs, capturing Jan Ekels's painting of the Dam Square in Amsterdam. Photography in the 19th century was as much a chemical process as it was an artistic one, involving coating glass plates with light-sensitive emulsions. Think about what it meant to reproduce a painting through this emerging medium. Photography democratized images, making art accessible to a wider audience beyond the elite. But it also relied on the labour of the photographer, and the industrial production of photographic materials. Oelrichs's photograph flattens the textures and brushstrokes of the original painting, transforming it into a commodity. This process mirrored the increasing industrialization of art production, where images could be replicated and circulated on a mass scale, impacting our understanding of art and its relationship to commerce. This photograph reminds us that every image, every artwork, is shaped by the materials, techniques, and the social conditions of its making.