Gezicht op een van de ingangen van het 18de-eeuws warenhuis Gostiny Dvor op de Nevski Prospekt in Sint Petersburg 1898

Henry Pauw van Wieldrecht created this photograph of the Gostiny Dvor department store in St. Petersburg. The image captures a moment in the life of a bustling commercial center, but it also offers a glimpse into the social and economic dynamics of early 20th-century Russia. The Gostiny Dvor, built in the 18th century, represented a significant shift towards modern commerce. Van Wieldrecht's photograph invites us to consider the politics of imagery in a society undergoing rapid transformation. What does it mean to depict a space of commerce and consumption in a time of social upheaval? Is the artist celebrating the opportunities presented by the new economy, or is there a critique embedded in the representation of material wealth? To understand this photograph, we might look to sources that illuminate the social history of St. Petersburg or contemporary accounts that reflect on the changing role of commerce in Russian society.