Opstelling van Beierse kunst in het Bayerisches Nationalmuseum te München 1876

Curator: Standing before us is an 1876 photographic print, presenting "Opstelling van Beierse kunst in het Bayerisches Nationalmuseum te München," an arrangement of Bavarian art captured at the Bayerisches Nationalmuseum in Munich. The image is part of the Rijksmuseum's collection. Editor: My first thought? Claustrophobia, actually! All those objects, so meticulously arranged, but it feels like a shop, not really a celebration of individual artistry. Is it the density, or the flat light, perhaps both? Curator: It's definitely a product of its time. The impulse seems to be encyclopedic, presenting the breadth of Bavarian artistry, rather than curating for effect or highlighting individual masterpieces. The long exposure and printing techniques would affect the evenness of light you noticed. Consider how different it is from, say, the staged drama you’d see in paintings of royal collections. Editor: Right, it lacks the baroque flourish. Instead, you have this almost scientific approach. The eye struggles to find a resting place. Are those mainly glassware items on display? Curator: Yes, glass is prominent, but also notice the busts, ceramics, and small sculptures interspersed amongst the decorative objects. There's a real emphasis on craftsmanship, reflecting Bavaria’s artistic traditions. This photograph becomes a kind of inventory, a visual record that aims to preserve, through the medium of photography, a specific moment in the region's cultural history. Editor: It makes me think about how much tastes have shifted! Nowadays, we would focus more on lighting and maybe showcase a single perfect vase under a spotlight, like revering a minimalist dream. This image tells you about more than the displayed objects themselves: it speaks about shifting approaches to value, visual representation, and art's display. Curator: Indeed! From an image documenting what the artist perceived was valuable about their subject, a century later, we now question our subjective values from looking back, and even begin to question the values implicit in museum exhibition as an event, itself. Editor: An artistic event captured in time. Pretty powerful for something initially appearing like an old shop interior.