The Burning of Sodom (After Benozzo Gozzoli) - Fratelli Alinari

A nineteenth-century albumen print by Fratelli Alinari documenting Benozzo Gozzoli's Renaissance fresco, The Burning of Sodom, in the Camposanto of Pisa.

This albumen print by the Fratelli Alinari studio documents the fresco cycle by Benozzo Gozzoli (1420-1497) located in the Camposanto Monumentale in Pisa. The original fresco, depicting the destruction of Sodom, formed part of a larger Old Testament cycle commissioned in the mid-fifteenth century. Gozzoli, a student of Fra Angelico, was known for his narrative clarity and his ability to populate large-scale wall paintings with numerous figures, architectural details, and naturalistic elements.

The Alinari brothers, pioneers in the field of photographic documentation, established their studio in Florence in 1852. Their mission involved the systematic recording of Italian art and architecture. This specific print captures the weathered state of the fresco, preserving the composition and the spatial arrangement of the figures as they appeared in the late nineteenth century. The image reveals the complex narrative structure of the original work, where the chaotic scene of the city's destruction contrasts with the figures fleeing in the foreground.

As a photographic record, this print provides a window into the historical condition of the Camposanto frescoes before the extensive damage caused by the Second World War. The sepia tones and the soft focus characteristic of nineteenth-century albumen printing offer a distinct aesthetic quality, separating the image from modern digital reproductions. It functions as both a historical record of Italian Renaissance art and an example of early archival photography. The print retains the original mounting, which includes the studio's identification, reflecting the professional standards of the Alinari firm during their most active period of documenting the cultural heritage of Italy.