945 - G. SOMMER (1834-1914), Santa Maria del Carmine Maggiore, around 1880, albumen paper print

G. SOMMER (1834-1914), Santa Maria del Carmine Maggiore, around 1880, albumen paper print Giorgio Sommer (1834 Frankfurt on the Main - 1914 Naples): "Italy: Church of St Carmine in Naples", Santa Maria del Carmine Maggiore, Carmelite and pilgrimage church with monastery, c. 1880, albumen paper print Technique: albumen paper print, mounted on Cardboard Date: c. 1880 Description: Very beautiful photograph of Italy, showing the statue of "Corradino" von Hohenstaufen in the nave; from the royal studio of Giorgio Sommer, the "Fotografo di Sua Maestà il Re d'Italia". Born Georg Sommer on 2 September 1834 in Frankfurt am Main, he learned professional photography, with which he was to become the court photographer of the Bourbons, Vittorio Emanuele II, in southern Italy. Titled below the image. Original photograph with high sharpness of detail. An early example of travel photography. Around the middle of the 19th century, more and more tourists from bourgeois circles travelled to Italy. At that time, photographs could only be taken at great expense in terms of time and with expensive, unwieldy equipment. This made many tourists all the more grateful for the work of the professional photographer's studios on site, so that they could bring back a souvenir from their holiday home or collect them as mementos. Famous photographers such as Carlo Naya, Giorgio Sommer and the Alinari brothers photographed the most famous sights of their home cities and travelled themselves to photograph their customers' favourite destinations and offer them as albumen prints. Ancient art treasures were also photographed and offered to travellers. The high-quality photographs of sculptures and frescoes continued to make an important contribution to documenting the art treasures and making them accessible to scholars from all over Europe, who previously had to rely on copies or engravings if they were unable to view the original themselves. Keywords: 19th century, Historicism, Architecture, Italy, Size: Cardboard: 36,8 cm x 31,0 cm (14,5 x 12,2 in), Depiction: 24,0 cm x 18,8 cm (9,4 x 7,4 in) Condition: Good condition. The image makes a very good impression. Tiny inclusion in the paper at lower left; cardboard slightly wavy.