Berggasse No. 16, Palais des Grafen Georg Festetics de Tolna c. 1860s

Curator: Here we have an image titled "Berggasse No. 16, Palais des Grafen Georg Festetics de Tolna," a photograph dating back to the 1860s. Editor: My initial impression is one of stark formality, even austerity. It’s a wall of windows and strict architectural lines, rendered in monochrome. Curator: Right. This silver print captures a very specific slice of 19th-century Vienna, the aristocratic palace on Berggasse 16. Think about the burgeoning of photography in this era, and how it allowed for documenting structures and urban spaces with unprecedented realism. It offered an almost objective portrayal. Editor: "Objective" is a key word here. I am not so sure about this objectiveness, especially given that buildings are never neutral. Palaces such as this were powerful symbols of wealth and privilege, silently conveying power dynamics embedded in the city’s social structure. Even the act of choosing what to frame—what to show and not show—speaks volumes. Curator: True. However, photography offered a different viewing experience to, say, painting, even though similar visual compositions were clearly in play, given photography’s early associations with landscape painting. Editor: It's a fascinating tension—that drive towards a purportedly objective representation versus the inherent socio-political dimensions imbedded in urban photography. And I’m curious: what does Berggasse 16 signify to Viennese collective memory? Was this just another aristocratic address, or something more meaningful? Curator: It is most famous, in a rather unexpected historical twist, as the address where Sigmund Freud lived and had his office for almost 50 years! His apartment was on the first floor and his consulting rooms on the bel étage, or second floor. While the building may stand as an architectural representation of aristocratic power, its historical identity today is far more powerfully defined by psychoanalysis, a symbolic power which undoubtedly subverts the intent for those who built it. Editor: Fascinating! So, the meaning of the place has radically shifted across time, acquiring an entirely new layer of socio-cultural relevance related to psychological exploration and challenging societal norms! That complicates my initial read considerably! Curator: It certainly does, showcasing the evolution of spaces and their symbolic significance. Editor: What seemed to me an unyielding, stark statement has transformed into something with far greater depth. Curator: Indeed. Visual austerity coexisting with intellectual and therapeutic dynamism! A curious duality!