Gezicht op een gebouw met toren te Tirol c. 1865 - 1890

Editor: Here we have Anton Gratl's "Gezicht op een gebouw met toren te Tirol," a daguerreotype photograph dating from around 1865 to 1890. The muted tones and the rigid composition create a really formal atmosphere for me. What do you see in this piece, especially considering its historical context? Curator: This image speaks volumes about power structures within 19th-century European society. Photography, in its early stages, was a tool largely accessible to the bourgeoisie, used to document and thus, in a way, claim ownership of landscapes and architectural landmarks. The choice to depict a building with a tower, presumably a site of authority - perhaps religious or governmental - reinforces existing hierarchies. Do you see how the photographer has positioned himself to literally "look up" at the edifice? Editor: That's a good point, I didn’t notice it at first. The angle definitely reinforces that sense of hierarchy. Do you think the Romanticism style played into that at all? Curator: Absolutely. Romanticism, while seemingly about emotion and nature, often idealized the past and justified existing power structures. By photographing the tower in this style, Gratl participates in the Romantic project of aestheticizing authority. What isn't shown in the image is equally crucial, don't you think? Where are the people, the farmers, the workers who sustain this structure? Their absence is a political statement in itself. Editor: I hadn't thought of that. It's like the photograph is actively erasing certain narratives while promoting others. I'm learning so much. Curator: Indeed. Art is rarely neutral; it's a product of its time, shaped by prevailing ideologies and social forces. Reflecting on this artwork helps to challenge what it does, and perhaps more importantly, what it does not, tell us.