Gezicht op de Basilica di Santa Croce en het standbeeld van Dante in Florence c. 1865 - 1890

This photograph of the Basilica di Santa Croce and the statue of Dante in Florence was produced by Edizione Brogi. Photography, in its early days, was a chemical process as much as an art form. The gelatin silver process, used here, involved coating glass plates with light-sensitive emulsion. The plates were then exposed in a camera, developed, and printed onto paper. Consider the labour involved: preparing the chemicals, coating the plates evenly, and meticulously printing each photograph. Each step demanded precision and skill. Photography democratized image-making, but even this seemingly straightforward scene implicates issues of labor and class. While photography allowed for wider distribution of images, the skilled labor behind it often went unacknowledged. By focusing on the material processes behind this image, we can appreciate how photography, like any other medium, is shaped by the labor, technology, and social context in which it is produced. This challenges the traditional hierarchy between art and craft, inviting us to consider the value of skilled work in all its forms.