A powerful car Possibly 1908

Curator: This captivating photograph, likely taken around 1908, is entitled "A powerful car" and forms part of the Rijksmuseum's collection. Editor: What strikes me is the stillness. Despite the title, which suggests something forceful, the image exudes a peaceful calm. It feels like a paused memory, sepia-toned with nostalgia. Curator: Indeed, there is a remarkable stillness, reminiscent of pictorialist aesthetics. The photographer, Geldolph Adriaan Kessler, emphasizes atmospheric qualities over sharp detail, characteristic of pictorialism's turn-of-the-century sensibility. Note how he frames the automobile not as an engine of modernity, but integrates it into a pastoral setting, juxtaposing technology with nature, reflecting anxieties about progress at the time. Editor: Look at the placement of that car in relation to everything surrounding it: it feels… contained. Like an expensive, elaborate toy, tucked away in the landscape with figures posing as props. Is it me or is there something theatrical about the staged composition? And those cows in the back?! Hilarious! Curator: That very staged composition underscores Kessler’s background as a director of photography for various companies. In terms of how the image operated publicly at that time, early motorcars were signifiers of immense wealth and privilege, reshaping notions of mobility. Capturing them amidst bucolic scenery allowed the privileged to claim a sentimental, often distorted relationship to the rural idyll, further legitimizing existing social hierarchies. Editor: All I know is, even though it’s just a snapshot of rich people enjoying new gadgets, there’s an underlying wistfulness to this piece. All this lush earth, captured as fleeting and ephemeral through this photograph! Time rolls on, trends disappear, leaving… images like this behind, reminding us how delicate it all really is. Curator: Well said. Thinking about this from the perspective of the museum, this photograph offers insights into art photography, technological development, and the representation of power. Editor: Absolutely! All those themes. All those perspectives. It really takes your breath away.