Gezicht op de Gravenstraat in Den Haag 1884 - 1928

Editor: This is "Gezicht op de Gravenstraat in Den Haag," a photograph by Wilhelm Frederick Antonius Delboy, made sometime between 1884 and 1928. It shows a busy street scene, and the tonality gives it a somewhat dreamlike quality. What can you tell me about it? Curator: As a photograph, we have to consider it first as a reproducible commodity, disseminated for consumption. What processes did Delboy employ? Pictorialism wasn't simply about aesthetics; it involved techniques like soft focus and specific printing methods to mimic painting. These techniques had material consequences, affecting labor and resources. Editor: So, it's not just about the *look* of the photograph, but how that look was achieved? Curator: Precisely. Consider the buildings, the trolley, the sheer density of people. Photography at this time becomes a tool of documentation and social management. Think about the labor involved in constructing those buildings, operating that trolley, and even posing for the photograph itself, consciously or unconsciously creating it. Editor: That’s interesting – it's easy to overlook the social dynamics inherent in a cityscape like this. The trolley car really drives that home; it highlights this period of technological advancement. Curator: And it is also, a space of class division and consumption; we may infer that its availability impacted mobility and accessibility. How did this photographic style serve or challenge the existing social hierarchy of The Hague? Editor: It's made me think differently about what photography meant at the time. Seeing this, I realize that art extends beyond the singular artist into a vast material and cultural landscape. Curator: Exactly. Considering its production challenges the traditional separation of 'high art' and more mundane production methods. It is another form of looking at labor and how labor interacts in photography.