Chondrus mamillosus c. 1843 - 1853

Anna Atkins made this cyanotype of Chondrus mamillosus, a species of red algae, sometime in the mid-19th century. The cyanotype process, a very early form of photography, renders the image in shades of Prussian blue. Atkins was part of a network of scientists in England who were interested in the possibilities of using photography for scientific documentation. She self-published her photographs in a series of books entitled "Photographs of British Algae: Cyanotype Impressions" beginning in 1843. The invention of photography created a new visual language that challenged the dominance of academic painting and drawing as the primary way of recording the world, and for Atkins, as a woman in science, this new technology offered an opportunity to participate in the production of knowledge in a way that might not have been possible otherwise. To understand this image better, we might research the history of photography and the role of women in science in the 19th century. The study of art can help us understand the changing social and institutional contexts of knowledge production.