958 - Unknown (19th century), Basilica of St. Francis in Assisi, around 1880, albumen paper print

Unknown (19th century), Basilica of St. Francis in Assisi, around 1880, albumen paper print Unknown (19th century): View of the Basilica of San Francesco in Assisi, the burial church of St. Francis of Assisi, c. 1880, albumen paper print Technique: albumen paper print, mounted on cardboard Inscription: Inscribed on the support at the bottom: "S. Francesco in Assisi". Date: c. 1880 Description: Original photograph with high detail sharpness. An early example of travel photography. Around the middle of the 19th century, more and more tourists from middle-class circles traveled to Italy. At that time, taking photographs required a great deal of time and expensive, cumbersome equipment. This made many tourists all the more grateful for the work of professional photography studios on site, which allowed them to bring back a memento from afar for those who stayed at home or to collect as souvenirs. Famous photographers such as Carlo Naya, Giorgio Sommer, and the Alinari brothers photographed the most famous sights of their home cities and traveled themselves to photograph their clients’ most popular destinations, offering these images as albumen prints. Ancient art treasures were also photographed and made available to travelers. The high-quality photographs of sculptures and frescoes continued to make an important contribution to documenting art treasures and making them accessible to scholars from all over Europe, who previously had to rely on tracings or engravings if they could not view the original for themselves. Keywords: Travel photography; Souvenir; Veduta; View; Architectural photography; Sculpture; Renaissance; Francis; Saint; Basilica; Middle Ages; Gothic; Romanesque; Francis of Assisi; Founder of an order; Monk, 19th century, Historicism, Architecture, Italy, Assisi (Umbria), Size: Cardboard: 25.8 cm x 33.5 cm (10.2 x 13.2 in), Image: 19.7 cm x 25.9 cm (7.8 x 10.2 in) Condition: In fairly good condition. The photograph and backing are noticeably wavy. There is rough retouching on the photographic plate to the right above the portal and in the lower left corner. The photographic plate is soiled in places. The surface has an overall velvety texture; it was likely not finished with ovalbumin. The backing board is noticeably damaged in the lower right corner.