Forum Romanum

Albumen on paper, circa 1860/70.

The shot was taken from an elevated position, presumably from the slopes of the Capitoline Hill, looking southeast toward the Colosseum. The bulk of the Colosseum and the bell tower of the church of Santa Francesca Romana (adjacent to the Temple of Venus and Rome) are clearly visible on the horizon. The area appears partially excavated and in a phase of urban and archaeological transition, with rows of plinths and columns isolated before the major demolitions and systematic surveys of the twentieth century.

The photo documents the Forum during the period of papal excavations, before Rome's transfer to the Kingdom of Italy in 1870, making it a piece of great historical interest.

An albumen photograph of this size (52 x 37 cm) falls into the category of large 19th-century formats, often made from wet collodion glass negatives of "mammoth" format or similar. In Rome, between 1860 and 1870, very few professional photographers possessed the technical equipment and chemical expertise necessary to produce albumen prints of such clarity on such large surfaces.

The principal photographers active in Rome during that decade who were capable of this quality and scale were: Robert MacPherson, renowned for his large-format monumental views of Rome, characterized by an extraordinary tonal range and rigorous compositions; Gioacchino Altobelli, official photographer of the French Academy and of papal public works, known for his large-format, richly detailed works; and the D'Alessandri Brothers, also active during that period with large-scale archaeological views.