Gezicht op de Loggia dei Lanzi te Florence, Italië 1864 - 1881

Giacomo Brogi captured this albumen print of the Loggia dei Lanzi in Florence, Italy, sometime in the mid-19th century. Brogi's photograph offers us a glimpse into a moment of cultural self-fashioning. Consider the Loggia itself, designed to showcase Florence's power and artistic prowess, filled with classical sculptures, each an embodiment of idealized masculinity. The architecture and the art work together to project an image of dominance and authority. Now, think about the act of photographing this scene in the 19th century. Photography was then a relatively new technology, and its use in documenting and disseminating images of cultural landmarks played a role in shaping national and cultural identities. Brogi, as a commercial photographer, was part of this process. His photographs not only captured the physical appearance of the Loggia, but also contributed to its symbolic value. The figures here are blurred, emphasizing the permanence of the architecture versus the ephemeral presence of the people. What does it mean to frame a city this way? A constructed identity for Florentines, for Italians, for the world.