Galleria degli Uffizi te Florence, Italië 1864 - 1881

This photograph of the Galleria degli Uffizi in Florence, Italy, was taken by Giacomo Brogi in the late 19th century, using a process that was then relatively new, but now very familiar. Photography in Brogi's time was a fascinating mix of science and craft. The images were made by coating a glass plate with light-sensitive emulsion, exposing it in a large format camera, and then developing it using darkroom techniques. The sepia tone we see here is characteristic of the chemical processes used at the time. What's interesting is how the reproducible nature of photography was already beginning to democratize image-making. Brogi, like many commercial photographers, documented architecture and landscapes, making them accessible to a wider audience. This was a shift away from unique, hand-crafted artworks, toward mass-produced images – a reflection of the growing industrialization of society and the rise of visual culture that continues today. Photography changed how we see and consume the world.