Huis met koets 1863 - 1869

Editor: Here we have Woodbury & Page's albumen print, "Huis met koets," created sometime between 1863 and 1869. It gives off this feeling of quiet, everyday life, a serene snapshot. What story do you think it's trying to tell? Curator: Oh, I feel like I'm peering into another world, truly. That dark carriage lurking to the side reminds me how posed most photos of the time were – everyone holding still, pretending life was frozen. It's an intriguing mix of constructed stillness and wild tropicality. Do you get that sense, too? Editor: Absolutely! It's almost theatrical, that perfect carriage placement. How much do you think that theatricality was intentional on the artists' part? Curator: I imagine they saw themselves as composing a scene, capturing an "essence" of the location, more than just documenting it. Look how the light dapples the leaves, but the building is clearly visible. It wasn't easy to control exposures back then. A dash of romance, a slice of anthropological record. That building is clearly made using local techniques and materials. Don’t you want to reach out and touch the straw roof? Editor: Now that you point it out, the rough textures really stand out. The photograph seems like it’s inviting me to think about a different way of building, a different way of life. Curator: Precisely. That friction between their Western gaze and the intrinsic exoticness of their subject. It raises all sorts of wonderful, thorny questions about what we choose to show – and not to show. Editor: This has given me a completely new way of looking at early photography! It’s like each picture contains so much more than meets the eye at first glance.