Florence: Michelangelo’s Unfinished Apollo in the Galleria degli Uffizi, ca. 1868 – 1870

About the Work

Trade with photographs became an established business sector between 1850 and 1880. Nearly all large photography

studios of the second half of the nineteenth century offered views of well-known edifices, but also photographic

reproductions of artworks. Adolphe Braun from Dornach in Alsace recorded Europe’s most well-known art collections photographically. A savvy businessman, he marketed his photos to an international clientele by way of a catalogue. The first verifiable communication between Braun and the Städelsches Kunstinstitut came about in 1869. Among the acquisitions up to the year 1871 were more than 202 photographs of primarily Italian artworks, including examples by Raphael, Michelangelo, and Andrea Mantegna.