De Melkgrot te Bethlehem before 1878

Curator: What strikes me immediately is the texture—that crumbly, ancient stone practically begs to be touched. Editor: Exactly! This is a photograph of "De Melkgrot te Bethlehem" or "The Milk Grotto in Bethlehem" captured before 1878 by Félix Bonfils, now held in the Rijksmuseum. It’s an albumen print, part of a larger photographic album. Curator: Albumen—fitting, given the milky theme! Seriously though, there’s something so haunting about the play of light and shadow. Makes me think about all the footsteps that have worn down those stones, all the whispered prayers. Editor: And that is no accident. Bonfils was working within a burgeoning market for images of the Holy Land, catering to Western audiences keen on visualizing biblical narratives. The grotto itself is a site of pilgrimage, believed to have received its milky hue when a drop of Mary's milk fell to the ground while she was nursing Jesus. Curator: So, not just about history, but about belief too, which becomes encoded within the image. The cave seems to both protect and reveal, offering solace and secrecy simultaneously. How did people then receive photographs like these, in a social sense? Editor: In many ways, similar to how we engage with travel photography today. They offered a sense of immediacy and "proof" of distant lands. However, they also reinforced orientalist fantasies and colonial power dynamics, simplifying a complex history for Western consumption. The framing, the vantage point...everything is carefully constructed. Curator: Constructed yes, but maybe also reverently framed, no? I feel the urge, in viewing this work, to honor its beauty. I love this picture for speaking to how stories and beliefs layer themselves into landscapes, staining even stones with their narratives. Editor: Ultimately, I believe that this is where this image remains captivating, bridging document and imagination—it prompts a reflection on how images shape our perceptions of both faith and place, a reminder of the stories we tell ourselves and the world.