[View of Koum]

Art Historical Context

**View of Koum Luigi Pesce, *View of Koum*,1840s–60s. Albumen silver print. The Metropolitan Museum of Art, York. Gift of Charles K. and Irma B. Wilkinson,1977. Step into the sun-drenched world of mid-19th-century photography Luigi Pesce's *View Koum*, a captivating albumen silver print that the sturdy architecture and buildings of this evocative locale. Created during the 1840s to 1860s, Pesce's image exemplifies the dawn of travel photography, when artists ventured abroad to document distant lands with newfound precision. The tags of "Architecture" and "Buildings" highlight its focus on constructed forms, inviting us to ponder the cultural landscapes Pesce encountered. The albumen silver print process, pioneered in the 1850s, revolutionized image-making by coating paper with egg whites and silver salts for sharp, luminous details and warm tones—perfect for architectural subjects. This medium allowed Pesce to capture textures of stone and shadow play with remarkable clarity, preserving a moment from an era of exploration and colonial curiosity. As part of the Met's Photographs collection, it offers a window into how early photographers like Pesce bridged art and documentation, turning everyday structures into timeless icons. (198 words)

About the Artist

Luigi Pesce · 1818–1891

**Luigi Pesce (1828–1864)** was an Italian colonel and pioneering amateur photographer from Naples in the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies, whose work captured some of the earliest images of Iran's ancient monuments and 19th-century life. Arriving in Persia in 1848 during the reign of Naser al-Din Shah Qajar, Pesce was tasked with training Iranian infantry units, a mission that positioned him ideally t...