Scène uit het Passiespel in Oberammergau in 1870, afgebeeld Petrus, Johannes en een jongen 1870

This albumen print by F. Steigenberger captures a scene from the Passion Play in Oberammergau in 1870. The sepia tones lend a timeless quality, contrasting with the specificity of the event depicted. Compositionally, the work is structured by the arrangement of its figures. The verticality of Peter's staff contrasts with the more horizontal grouping of John and the young boy. These forms work together to create a balanced, yet dynamic, visual field. The materiality of photography itself plays a crucial role here. As a medium inherently tied to representation, photography is here used to document a play. The print flattens the three-dimensional space of the stage, thus highlighting the interplay between reality and artifice. This collapsing of space encourages us to consider how the Passion Play itself functions as a form of cultural representation, where religious narratives are reenacted and reinterpreted for a contemporary audience. Ultimately, Steigenberger's photograph is not just a record of a theatrical performance; it is a complex layering of representation, performance, and documentation, all mediated through the formal properties of the photographic medium.