Heilige Trap in het Lateraans paleis te Rome, Italië 1851 - 1890

This photograph depicts the Holy Staircase in the Lateran Palace in Rome. Though its maker is unknown, we can still consider the image’s material construction. Photography in the 19th century was a complex alchemy of chemistry, optics, and light. The process involved coating a surface with light-sensitive materials, carefully exposing it to light through a lens, and then developing the image through a series of chemical baths. Each of these steps required careful calibration and skill. The resulting image, a delicate balance of light and shadow, captured the texture and form of the staircase. What is most interesting here is the tension between mechanical reproduction, and human labor; between the supposed objectivity of the photographic process, and the way that the photographer might stage a scene to communicate faith, power, and hierarchy. As we contemplate the image, it is important to remember that the photograph itself is a designed object, a product of human skill. Examining its making, and its material, can bring us closer to understanding its deeper meanings.