Fotoreproductie van fresco Mercurius door Rafaël in het Farnesina te Rome c. 1870 - 1890

This is a photograph made by Domenico Anderson, reproducing Raphael's fresco of Mercury in the Villa Farnesina in Rome. Anderson was part of a family of photographers documenting artworks in Italy for an expanding art market in the late 19th century. Raphael’s fresco itself was part of a larger decorative program commissioned by the wealthy banker Agostino Chigi during the High Renaissance. The choice of Mercury, the fleet-footed messenger of the gods, as a subject reflects the era's fascination with classical mythology and its use in celebrating wealth and power. Anderson's photograph made the fresco accessible to a wider audience. Photography played a crucial role in shaping art historical discourse and democratizing access to art. It allowed institutions to build collections of reproductions, shaping popular understanding of the Renaissance. To fully understand these artworks, archival research into the patronage of the Villa Farnesina, the Anderson family's photographic business, and the growth of art history as a discipline would be invaluable. Art, in this sense, is always contingent on its social and institutional context.