My contribution is based on the mechanization of digital images: The condition of the image after it has been converted into a file through digitization. After an introductory reflection on the situatedness of art history in the face of image processing techniques thus the constantly algorithmized image, I focus particularly on an examination of the single image based on its machine-readability. According to my thesis, focusing on the relationship between digital image and datafile holds insights for art historical reflection on mass media image production and shows how existing time systems become anachronistic through this connection. In doing so, I ask about the status of the digital image when it is measured against its alter ego, the data set. Therefore, I explore which concepts of- and how image historicity alternates with datafication and ask about the algorithmisation of vision.