Troonzaal in het Palais des Tuileries te Parijs c. 1860 - 1871

Ernest Eléonor Pierre Lamy made this photograph of the throne room in the Tuileries Palace in Paris, sometime in the mid-19th century. It's a stereo card, which would have been viewed through a special device to give a three-dimensional effect. The photographic process itself is crucial here. Photography at this time was still relatively new, and its capacity to capture detail, as we see in the ornate chandeliers and the rich fabrics, was astounding. But more than that, it offered a way to disseminate images widely. Suddenly, people could have a relatively inexpensive reproduction of a royal interior. Think of the skilled labor required to produce the original room: the weavers, the glassmakers, the carpenters, all working to create an environment of absolute luxury. And then the photographer, adding another layer of production, making that splendor available for mass consumption. It really democratized the image of power, even if the reality of power remained stubbornly unequal. Photography, then, becomes a tool that both documents and participates in the social dynamics of its time.