At the end of the 19th century, Rio de Janeiro consolidated itself as a commercial and maritime center.

• Large panoramic photograph of Rio de Janeiro, probably by Marc Ferrez.
• Dimensions: 55 × 26 cm (stand) / 46.5 × 17 cm (image).
• Rio de Janeiro, between 1875 and 1890.
• Excellent condition; the photograph has been cleaned by a professional restorer.
• Unique piece.

This panorama presents a wide view of the port of Rio de Janeiro, observed from Morro do Castelo, one of the city's most emblematic landmarks in the 19th century, a hill entirely demolished in 1922. To the left, the bay appears intensely occupied by sailing ships and commercial vessels, with Sugarloaf Mountain clearly visible in the background. In the center, the docks, warehouses, and public buildings linked to port activity stand out, while towers of Baroque churches punctuate the horizon of the historic center; in the background, Corcovado, in the Tijuca Forest, where Christ the Redeemer would be inaugurated in 1931. To the right, a more industrial area, identifiable by a tall chimney probably associated with the Arsenal, completes the composition, enriched in the foreground by rooftops, sloping streets, and colonial houses, creating a striking contrast between the urban fabric and the monumentality of the port facilities. The panorama currently corresponds to the neighborhoods of Centro and Saúde, with a visual extension to Gamboa.

The combination of stylistic and technical characteristics strongly points to an attribution to Marc Ferrez (1843–1923). Few photographers in Brazil mastered, as he did, the creation of views of this magnitude, with the use of specific equipment and the careful assembly of albumen prints. The balanced composition, the uniform sharpness throughout the image, the richness of detail, and the ability to integrate relief, port, and urban fabric are recurring hallmarks of his work, also present in panoramas preserved at the Instituto Moreira Salles and the National Library, making this attribution the most coherent hypothesis.

Few 19th-century albumen panoramas of this scale, especially those assembled from multiple images, have survived. Discovered in France and preserved in excellent condition, this panorama constitutes a unique visual testimony of a Rio de Janeiro that has since disappeared and should be part of one of the most important collections dedicated to Brazilian photography.