Fotoreproducties van prenten naar fresco's met voorstellingen van God die Isaak de wegwijst en Isaak en Rebekka die worden afgeluisterd door Rafaël voor de loggia's in het Vaticaan before 1861

These photographic reproductions of frescoes were made by Gustav Schauer in the 19th century. They document Raphael's Vatican loggias, using a relatively new technology to capture and disseminate the older art form of fresco. The images themselves show scenes from the Old Testament, but the photographic process and the social context in which it exists is equally fascinating. Photography democratized art viewing by turning artworks into commodities that could be reproduced and distributed widely, quite different from the skilled, laborious, and site-specific process of creating frescoes. Schauer's photographs, with their reproducible nature, also speak to the rise of mass media and the increasing accessibility of visual culture during the 19th century. By focusing on the way the images were made, and how they circulated, we gain a deeper understanding of their cultural impact, bridging the gap between traditional art and modern modes of production.