Stadhuis van Brunswijk 1880 - 1900

Editor: This gelatin silver print, taken by Johan Nöhring between 1880 and 1900, depicts the Brunswick City Hall. The composition is striking—rigid and still, almost like a stage set. What catches your eye in this piece? Curator: Oh, that stillness is exactly what pulls me in! It's like Nöhring has captured a pregnant pause in the life of the city, a moment when the weight of history, all those meetings and decisions made within those gothic walls, just hangs in the air. What do you think about that lower arcade, with all those shadows? It is creating an entirely different world. Editor: It makes it look both imposing and a bit forbidding. I do wonder what it felt like to walk under that. Do you see any references to Realism beyond just the city theme? Curator: Good question! Realism in photography is such a slippery eel, isn’t it? This isn't about idealizing architecture; it's documenting the city, "warts and all". Maybe its power is in revealing rather than inventing... Do you feel it captures truth through its lack of flourish? Editor: I see what you mean. There’s no romanticizing the scene, just a very straightforward presentation. That directness has a power of its own. Curator: Exactly! It whispers rather than shouts about the dignity and gravitas inherent in civic spaces, wouldn't you agree? These images were tools for shaping perceptions about place and time. What do you take away now from how things were presented at the time, in contrast to, say, modern media portrayals? Editor: I guess it's interesting to realize that what we often see as a simple representation was designed with a certain goal. And these are good things to keep in mind when visiting such historical spaces and looking at our society!