Gezicht op het strand van Nice 1860

Editor: This is "Gezicht op het strand van Nice," taken around 1860 by Furne Fils & H. Tournier, a photograph of the beach. The parallel viewpoints give it an interesting stereoscopic feel. What first strikes me is the formality, despite being a beach scene. How would you interpret this work? Curator: Formality, yes! Consider how beach scenes later became associated with leisure, with bodies, with pleasure… Here, we have the opposite. Look at the severe geometry of the buildings and the walls that dominate the composition. These repeating lines might remind us of the power and order a modernizing state asserts through infrastructure, no? What emotions do those structures conjure up? Editor: That's true. It feels a little… controlling, perhaps? Definitely less about relaxation. I hadn't thought about state power in what seems like a vacation spot. Curator: Indeed. This photograph presents us with a specific viewpoint, quite literally from an elevated, secure position, shaping how we understand both nature and progress in that era. Also note that there are no human figures visible. What feeling do you get from that absence? Editor: Loneliness, maybe? Like something’s missing from the scene? Or that there is only this single, "authorized" point of view? Curator: Exactly. We could also ask whether a feeling of progress is shown? Are they shaping the shore, as they build the metropolis? What do you make of that? Editor: It is very insightful to see it from a point of view like yours. I learned how one single view can embody historical and cultural memories. Thank you. Curator: It was a pleasure to shed some light on this cultural imagery.