Tombeaux des Califs et la Citadelle c. 19th century

This photograph, "Tombeaux des Califs et la Citadelle," was made in Cairo by Hippolyte Arnoux using an early photographic process. The sepia tones come from the chemical reaction of light on sensitized paper, a process that was as much craft as science in the 19th century. The image shows a built environment, but also the labor and materials that went into it: stone, brick, and mortar, shaped by human hands. The photograph itself is also a product of labor. Arnoux would have needed to transport his bulky equipment, prepare the chemicals, and carefully compose the shot. We might also consider the labor of the people who built and maintained the tombs and the citadel, structures that testify to human ambition. Photographs like this were often made for commercial purposes, sold as souvenirs, or used for documentation. This complicates the picture further, reminding us that even in the 19th century, the making of images was tied to wider social issues of labor, politics, and consumption.