Gezicht op het dogepaleis in Venetië before 1863

Allain et Cie. De Torbéchet made this photograph of the Doge’s Palace in Venice, its dimensions reflecting its role as a tourist keepsake. The albumen print process, popular in the 19th century, involved coating paper with egg white and silver nitrate, then exposing it to light through a negative. This created a detailed image, but one with a distinctive sepia tone and delicate surface. Consider the labor involved: collecting eggs, preparing the emulsion, and meticulously printing each photograph. The tonal range and the image size are all influenced by the materials used. The scale suggests mass production, catering to the burgeoning tourist industry. This was not about artistic expression, so much as capturing a popular monument, and presenting it as an affordable commodity. By understanding the process, we see this photograph not just as an image, but as a product of its time, enmeshed in social and economic forces.