Gezicht op een ophaalbrug 1900 - 1920

Curator: Looking at this gelatin-silver print, "Gezicht op een ophaalbrug" – or "View of a Drawbridge," made sometime between 1900 and 1920 by G. Hidderley, I’m struck by how matter-of-fact the representation is. Editor: I agree, it's quite plain but possesses a somber, perhaps even melancholic tone. It gives off a real sense of isolation. Curator: Yes, although Hidderley captured the image during a period of intense societal and political change. Photography became democratized with smaller, cheaper cameras available to everyone at the turn of the century. Photography played a vital role in shaping the era's visual culture, influencing the discourse on modernity, urbanisation, and identity. The subject of a plain rural town with simple architecture is quite quaint. Editor: That is an astute point. Looking at the bridge itself, the main focus of the work, it feels symbolic. Bridges are built for connecting places, but its raised drawbridge suggests division, a barrier, both literally and figuratively. Are we to see a connection between these societal changes and social isolation? Curator: Quite possibly, it seems Hidderley wants the viewer to appreciate the stillness. Notice the realism and simplicity, not quite romantic, despite some elements of pictorialism, especially within the tree branches. We see these in art of the late 19th century responding to modernity. Editor: And how Hidderley uses the reflections on the water. It's an understated touch but adds to the piece’s stillness. This focus creates this sense of suspended animation. Everything is still but also has latent movement; everything is so careful. Curator: Absolutely. The reflections provide another layer of detail, reinforcing the sense of serenity, like you said. In its quiet way, the photograph acknowledges change even as it finds a peaceful stillness. Editor: Agreed. A photo made at the advent of so much societal change and, yet, holding fast to an element of calm in everyday life, and asking us to examine a space and an object of historical import.