961 - G. SOMMER (1834-1914), Open staircase at the Palazzo Reale, Naples, around 1880, albumen paper print

G. SOMMER (1834-1914), Open staircase at the Palazzo Reale, Naples, around 1880, albumen paper print Giorgio Sommer (1834 Frankfurt on the Main - 1914 Naples): Carlo BROGI, Giacomo BROGI, Magnificent marble staircase in the Palazzo Reale in Naples, c. 1880, albumen paper print Technique: albumen paper print, mounted on Cardboard Date: c. 1880 Description: Titled and numbered in the centre of the lower margin of the depiction: "N.92. Napoli. La gran Scala di marmo nel Palazzo Reale". The magnificent royal palace is located in the Piazza Plebiscito in Naples. Its magnificent halls contain a large Neapolitan cot as well as a collection of clocks, sculptures and porcelain. Original photograph with high detail sharpness. 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 in 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: 24,5 cm x 31,0 cm (9,6 x 12,2 in), Depiction: 19,5 cm x 25,0 cm (7,7 x 9,8 in) Condition: Good condition. The image makes a very good impression. The image is discoloured along the sheet edges due to its age; upper right corner with a slight crease; occasional traces of colour in the area of the stairs and windows; foxing on the backing and wavy due to mounting.