Schouw met daarop wandborden en een kaststel c. 1875 - 1900

Editor: This is "Schouw met daarop wandborden en een kaststel," a photograph taken by P. Oosterhuis around 1875-1900. It’s a gelatin silver print depicting a fireplace laden with decorative plates. What strikes me is the almost obsessive quality of the display, the way the plates are stacked like a precarious tower. What do you see in this image? Curator: The fireplace, or “schouw,” acts as a stage, a carefully constructed tableau meant to convey particular meanings. The ordered display speaks to a certain aspiration – a desire to project affluence, domestic order, perhaps even cultural sophistication through the symbolic language of objects. Consider the plates themselves; each carries its own story, pattern, and history. They are arranged in a calculated manner, a visual vocabulary. Editor: So, it's about more than just decoration? Curator: Absolutely. Think about the enduring symbolism of the hearth. It's a space of warmth, nourishment, and family. By photographing this particular hearth so deliberately arranged, Oosterhuis captures a moment in time, preserving a carefully curated representation of home. And consider the technique itself: gelatin silver print, capturing the subtle textures and details, further emphasizes the realism and reinforces the symbolic weight. What feelings do these symbols evoke in you? Editor: I think it is interesting that what someone finds symbolically important can reveal much more about them, and, also that the hearth in modern times is much more minimalist than depicted here. It provides much to consider regarding the value ascribed to certain domestic spaces across different time periods. Curator: Indeed, a photograph acts as a time capsule, and helps us consider the meaning that historical values hold, and that persist throughout our own society.