Gezelschap in een rondvaartauto voor de Dom van Keulen c. 1920 - 1922

Atelier Küppers crafted this photograph, showing a company in a tour bus before Cologne Cathedral. Here, the cathedral looms in the background, a symbol not only of divine aspiration but also of civic pride. The cathedral, with its soaring Gothic arches and intricate façade, evokes a connection to the sacred and the sublime. This is a testament to human ingenuity, reaching upwards, as seen in the Tower of Babel or the ziggurats of Mesopotamia. However, the tour bus and the bowler hats speak to an era of industrial progress and bourgeois comfort. The passengers are modern pilgrims, seeking both spiritual enrichment and worldly pleasures. The image is of cyclical progression. The Cathedral represents a sense of continuity and renewal, a physical manifestation of enduring spiritual values. It transcends its original religious context, becoming an emblem of cultural identity and historical memory, reshaped by the collective consciousness of each successive generation.