Jaffa, gezien vanaf zee c. 1867 - 1895

Curator: This is an albumen print titled "Jaffa, gezien vanaf zee" or "Jaffa, Seen from the Sea," attributed to Maison Bonfils and believed to have been created between 1867 and 1895. Editor: The overwhelming flatness strikes me first. The photograph's palette is so limited—a near monochrome with slight variations, evoking a melancholic stillness. The ocean seems to flatten the subject—Jaffa’s clustered buildings on the hilltop. Curator: Note how the Bonfils studio, specializing in views of the Middle East, captures Jaffa as a tableau. The city becomes an arrangement of architectural forms against the backdrop of the sea and sky. The photograph is essentially structured into distinct horizontal zones: the sea, the cityscape, and the pale sky. Editor: And this deliberate framing certainly aestheticizes Jaffa, reducing it to a picturesque subject for European consumption. I can’t ignore the colonial implications, particularly as this was part of a larger series and a business enterprise marketing an idealized image of the "Orient." Curator: Absolutely, and within that "Orientalist" framework, we observe a very controlled depiction. There's minimal detail on the human presence. The focus instead, seems pointed towards this orderly construction. This contributes to the work's geometric and static quality. The albumen print technique itself—its warm tones and smooth surface—emphasizes that romantic distance. Editor: Yet there is also something intriguing in this imposed order. Despite its historical and potential sociopolitical implications, this print compels one to engage with that idea of framing and consider how photographic technology molds our perception of reality. Even that stillness you observed earlier, while artificial, provokes a reflection on how our image production reflects our desire for an artificial stillness. Curator: In the end, Maison Bonfils's Jaffa photograph invites scrutiny on multiple levels: as an aesthetic composition, as a document of its time, and as a point of intersection for socio-historical inquiry. Editor: And while problematic in its "Orientalist" gaze, it still manages to invite contemplation regarding the subjective framing inherent to every representational act.