Voetgangers op een plankier in een ondergelopen straat 1910 - 1911

Curator: The sepia tones lend an air of melancholic beauty, don’t you think? The whole image has a strangely subdued atmosphere. Editor: Indeed. We are looking at a photograph by G. Dangereux, entitled "Pedestrians on a boardwalk in a flooded street", dating from between 1910 and 1911. This photographic print captures a flooded urban environment, possibly Paris. I'm curious about the social context... Curator: I am also drawn to the image’s tonality; the shades all seem to melt into each other; a consequence of both the era of the photograph, and perhaps also due to the dreary setting. Observe how the artist chose a vantage point where we look down upon the receding flood, where the reflected light emphasizes the urban landscape. Editor: The scene is fascinating in its display of resilience. Look at the makeshift boardwalk, providing a stage for daily life despite the floodwaters. It prompts us to ask about the community's response to environmental crisis during that era. How did this disaster shape urban policy and social aid? Were events such as this photographed with the intention to be a wake up call? Curator: Note how the architecture reflects in the water, with verticality and repetition. The lines add a somewhat unnatural composition in an otherwise realistic cityscape. The buildings, partially submerged, echo in the water below. Editor: The repetition acts as a frame to this environmental narrative. I’d venture the formal choice here makes it harder to ignore the socio-economic ripples. Curator: Yes. It brings forward thoughts of adaptation, change, and the interaction of societal advancement against unforeseen disasters. One final note on the sepia tone itself, do you feel it gives this image a timeless quality that almost defies the environmental urgency it initially transmits? Editor: I find the very photographic evidence fascinating from a historical perspective, acting almost like a newsreel. Dangereux, here, really forces us to meditate upon civilization’s delicate dance with the unpredictability of nature and the ever-present potential for societal adaptation.