Het Amstel Hotel gezien vanaf de Amstel en links de Hogesluis c. 1860 - 1900

This photograph of the Amstel Hotel, seen from the Amstel river with the Hogesluis bridge on the left, was taken by Andries Jager, likely not long after the hotel's completion in 1867. Jager was a master of the wet collodion process, which was then state-of-the-art. This involved coating a glass plate with a light-sensitive emulsion, then immediately exposing and developing it. As you can imagine, it demanded considerable skill and speed. The resulting image, like this one, has a distinctive tonal range and sharpness, even in this small print. The process itself speaks volumes about the time. Photography was still a relatively new medium, requiring a blend of scientific knowledge and artistic sensibility. Here, Jager captures not just a building, but also the burgeoning modernity of Amsterdam, a city that was rapidly transforming itself through commerce and technology. Looking at this image, remember that it’s not just a picture, but an artifact of a specific moment in time, made possible by human ingenuity and labor. Appreciating this making process is key to understanding the artwork's full meaning.