Prellergalerij in het Neues Museum Weimar 1868 - 1890

Curator: We are looking at "Prellergalerij in het Neues Museum Weimar," a stereoscopic albumen print dating from around 1868 to 1890, attributed to Hermann Selle. Editor: Wow, it’s like stepping into a sepia dream. Eerily beautiful—but definitely feels… haunted. It has a silent grandeur. Curator: Indeed. Notice how the photograph uses linear perspective to emphasize the depth and vanishing point. The repetitive architectural details—the columns, the friezes, the mural panels—create a rhythm that both attracts and confines the eye. It also captures an interesting interplay of light and shadow. Editor: I love how the patterned floor almost vibrates. And those murals! You can just make out these epic, classical landscapes depicted in a series of framed paintings or frescoes along the walls. What stories do they hold? The empty space calls for an epic scene to occur right in front of those frescoes! Curator: From a formalist perspective, the content is secondary. Selle's success lies in exploiting the stereoscopic effect to enhance our spatial awareness. The texture created by the print’s grainy surface combined with repetitive nature, draws our attention to the medium itself and it's relation to realism, despite it's romantic depictions. Editor: I disagree... those murals bring an emotional heft that contradicts it all. They are so vague yet tantalizing. Who wouldn't wish to explore them closer? What would be beyond the walls, or further into that silent corridor? Curator: Your response underlines photography's inherent tension: it presents itself as objective documentation while remaining a subjective, constructed representation. Editor: It definitely gets your mind going. Perhaps the strength of this photographic albumen print rests in its evocative quietude. I'm still finding so many secrets! Curator: Precisely. It exemplifies photography’s unique ability to transform space and invite imaginative exploration, regardless of the exact narrative embedded in the paintings displayed on the wall.