Zaal van Saint-Louis in het kasteel van Fontainebleau 1858

This is a photograph by Florent Grau, showing the Zaal van Saint-Louis in the Chateau de Fontainebleau. It’s made using albumen silver print, a process popular in the 19th century. Now, consider what's shown. We see a meticulously designed interior, replete with complex plasterwork. This wasn’t just decoration; it was a demonstration of power. Think about the labor involved in creating this space. Highly skilled artisans would have been employed to realize the vision of the architects and designers. Plasterwork, in particular, is an incredibly labor-intensive process, requiring expertise in mixing, applying, and sculpting the material. The photograph itself also involved a degree of craftsmanship. The albumen process required coating paper with egg white and silver nitrate, exposing it to light through a negative, and then carefully developing and toning the print. So when we look at this image, we're seeing not just a depiction of a room, but also the result of multiple layers of human skill and effort, all captured through a specific photographic process. Considering all of this helps us to see how the hierarchies of labor and class are embedded in the making of even the most luxurious objects and spaces.