Gezicht op het Koninklijk Paleis te Madrid 1862 - 1876

This stereoscopic photograph of the Royal Palace in Madrid was made by Jean Andrieu sometime in the mid-19th century, using a process dependent on light, chemistry, and optics. The albumen print, created from a glass negative, was an innovative medium at the time, prized for its sharp detail and tonal range. The photographer would have coated a sheet of glass with collodion, exposed it in the camera, and then used the negative to create a positive print on albumen paper. Stereoscopic photography, with its double image, became a popular form of entertainment in the 19th century. When viewed through a stereoscope, the two images merge to create an illusion of three-dimensionality. The making of this illusion relied on precise alignment of the camera lenses, capturing two slightly different perspectives of the scene. Consider the labor embedded in this image. From the production of the chemicals and the camera, to the architectural work required to build the Palace, and the hand-applied color, this unassuming photograph encapsulates the spirit of the industrial age.