Gezicht op Ravello 1861 - 1878

Editor: This is an albumen print called "Gezicht op Ravello" by Ernest Eléonor Pierre Lamy, created sometime between 1861 and 1878. It gives me a nostalgic feeling, like looking into the past, especially with its monochromatic tones and focus on the landscape. What do you see in this piece beyond just a pretty cityscape? Curator: I see a document of power structures embedded within the picturesque. Photography in the 19th century, particularly landscape photography, wasn't just about capturing beauty. It was about claiming space, defining narratives of progress, and even reinforcing colonial ideologies. How does the perspective, the 'gaze' of the photographer, shape what we see and perhaps, what we're meant to think about places like Ravello? Editor: That’s an interesting perspective. I was mostly focused on the aesthetic appeal. Do you mean to say that the choice of framing and composition plays a role in perpetuating certain power dynamics? Curator: Precisely! Consider the elevated viewpoint. It suggests a sense of ownership, a dominating gaze. And who had the resources and leisure to travel and create these images during this time? The European bourgeois, mostly. These photographs, though seemingly innocent, can subtly reinforce their position. Also, what's included, and perhaps more importantly, what’s excluded from the frame? This photograph participates in constructing a specific narrative of Ravello, a carefully curated view. Editor: So, by looking at the photographer's perspective and the historical context, we can understand more about the underlying social and political ideas that the photograph may represent. That's definitely changed how I see it. Curator: Exactly. And it encourages us to question whose stories are being told, and whose are being silenced, in the visual representations of our world. Art always operates within a matrix of power, whether overtly or subtly.