Gezicht op Rügen in de Oostzee 1889 - 1893

Willem Frederik Piek Jr.’s Gezicht op Rügen in de Oostzee, or View on Rügen in the Baltic Sea, is a mounted gelatin silver print, an industrial process enabling photographic images to be easily and cheaply reproduced at scale. The gelatin silver process involves coating paper with light-sensitive silver halide crystals suspended in gelatin, and this particular print has a warm, sepia tone, which gives it an antique, almost nostalgic feel. The picture provides a wide angle view of the island of Rügen on the Baltic Sea, and is mounted on a thick piece of card. We can see the photographer’s shadow right at the bottom. These types of photographs were often sold as souvenirs, and became quite popular in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, as advancements in photography and printing techniques allowed for mass production and distribution. These prints are a testament to the democratizing potential of photography, allowing people from all walks of life to own and appreciate images of faraway places.