Gezicht op Trondheim en de Nidelva 1892

Curator: Let’s turn our attention to "Gezicht op Trondheim en de Nidelva," a photograph dating back to 1892. Editor: Oh, that sepia dreamscape. I feel instantly transported. The city feels like a whispered secret from up here. Like a forgotten kingdom shrouded in mist. Curator: Indeed. It’s held in the collection of the Rijksmuseum, and exemplifies Pictorialism, a style prioritizing artistic effect over strict realism in photography. The city seems meticulously composed within the landscape. We could discuss, for example, how notions of progress and technology are shown in relationship to nature, race, class. Editor: Or… we could dive headfirst into that dreamy Nidelva river and feel the city washing over us. Jokes aside, though, there's an interesting duality here, don't you think? It is technical image making but then also incredibly emotional because it reminds you of the old family photographs where everybody would huddle for hours while the image slowly materialises... Curator: The interplay of clarity and softness is remarkable. In 1892, Trondheim was experiencing significant social shifts amidst industrial expansion. This photograph participates in the romantic idealization of landscapes while also functioning as document, albeit filtered through artistic intent, and as an indexical record of expansion of global industrial networks, connecting distant countries, colonial enterprises, and more. Editor: Networks of oppression and beauty... You can almost smell the wood smoke rising from those buildings, almost feel the quiet hum of the river… Curator: By emphasizing aesthetics, Pictorialism in photographs sometimes skirts issues related to technology's role in wider societal structures or global concerns. However, to explore photographs such as this as related to social inequalities—whether of class, race, gender—and to explore their effects is key, particularly in contemporary practice. Editor: True. You have nudged me into thinking a bit harder about some potentially darker undercurrents too... Still, in the end, this picture, like any great art, makes you *feel*. Curator: It prompts us to contemplate the layers of history—aesthetic, political, social—encoded within what appears to be a serene, picturesque view. Editor: An unsettling, poignant beauty, if you like. One that begs you to consider multiple perspectives. Curator: Precisely.