Interieur van de Troonzaal van het Palais des Tuileries in Parijs 1864 - 1879

This stereograph depicts the Throne Room of the Tuileries Palace in Paris, and it was made anonymously using photographic techniques. The photographic process itself is central here. Light-sensitive chemistry, a lens, and a precisely calibrated camera are all that’s needed to fix a specific view on a small card. When viewed through a stereoscope, like the one this card was intended for, the image springs to life in three dimensions. Photography democratized image-making, bringing far-off places and exclusive interiors into the homes of the middle class. But consider what’s being shown. The glittering chandeliers, elaborate woodwork, and plush furnishings speak to a vast system of production, from the mines that yielded the metal for those chandeliers to the forests that provided the wood for the paneling. All this wealth was ultimately based on the labor of countless people, yet none of them are visible here. This seemingly straightforward photograph actually encapsulates a whole world of social and economic relations, one shaped by power, privilege, and the rise of industrial capitalism.