Fotoreproductie van een detail van de Madonna van Foligno door Rafaël, Vaticaan c. 1860 - 1900

This photographic reproduction of a detail from Raphael’s Madonna of Foligno was created by Fratelli Alinari. Rather than oil paints, the Alinari brothers worked with light-sensitive chemicals and paper, harnessing the power of industrial reproduction. The photograph’s sepia tones give the cherubic figure a soft, ethereal quality, mirroring the Renaissance painting it captures. Yet, the photograph flattens the image, losing the depth and texture of the original brushstrokes. Alinari's image democratized Raphael's masterpiece. Photography made art accessible, no longer confined to the walls of the Vatican, and available to a wider audience through mass production. This challenges the traditional hierarchy between fine art and commercial reproduction. The photograph serves not only as documentation but as a new form of artistic expression. It reflects the changing landscape of art in an age of mechanical reproduction, questioning notions of originality, labor, and value.