Siegessäule in Berlijn 1878

Editor: Here we have Johann Friedrich Stiehm’s “Siegessäule in Berlin,” a photograph from 1878. It depicts the Victory Column in Berlin, and it feels so… distant, almost dreamlike, given the soft focus. It is majestic though! What strikes you most about this piece? Curator: It makes me think about the weight of history, you know? This column, initially built to celebrate Prussian victories, stands as a silent witness to the shifting sands of power. In a way, this image makes one reflect about collective memory. Editor: Collective memory, how so? Curator: Well, Stiehm’s photograph immortalizes a monument designed to evoke the grandeur of the past and national pride. There is the crisp neoclassical column topped by the gilded goddess Victoria that commands attention, however Stiehm captured the sculpture’s shadow which symbolizes…everything. Don't you think the cityscape acts almost as a stage for projecting national narratives, hopes, and even anxieties? Editor: That’s a cool way to put it. It’s more than just a pretty building in a photo. Curator: Exactly. What seemed immutable, becomes subject to revision. Perhaps what I am reminded of is a quote from Milan Kundera: "The struggle of man against power is the struggle of memory against forgetting.” Does this work bring other quotes to your mind? Editor: Not immediately. But, seeing the monument framed in this way makes it feel like the photograph is commenting on history itself. Curator: Yes, indeed. And maybe reminding us that victory, like a photograph, can fade with time, inviting contemplation rather than blind celebration.