Drie mannen pootjebadend aan de kust bij Arcachon 1898

Curator: Immediately striking, isn’t it? There’s something almost absurd about the formality amidst this scene of, well, wet feet. Editor: Indeed! I'm drawn to the almost melancholic atmosphere. The men, wading in the water with their full suits, it's unusual. Are they working? Is this some kind of odd leisure activity? Curator: Well, what you’re seeing is titled “Drie mannen pootjebadend aan de kust bij Arcachon”, taken in 1898. This photo, found at the Rijksmuseum, presents three gentlemen engaged in, let's say, "foot-bathing" at the Arcachon coast. We believe it was taken by a photographer known only as Delizy. Editor: So photography wasn’t just documenting labor, but capturing emergent social behaviors, in all its staged awkwardness? What about the production of this photographic print itself, though? The sepia tones, the way light renders the water's surface... I’m wondering about the printing process of that era. It lends such a particular weight to the image. Curator: Good question. Albumen prints were very common, requiring skill. However, photography at the end of the century started becoming quite democratic as camera and film technologies advanced. Think about photography in relation to new seaside resorts – it all started booming around the same time, didn’t it? It was no longer enough for the bourgeoisie to go on the Grand Tour. They needed the seaside and demanded it be available. This is what's being constructed here: a certain availability, made popular by images like these. Editor: Availability for the privileged, certainly. Still, the sea does invite contemplation. You’re talking about tourism and construction of class behaviors, but I see them standing in nature, confronted by the elements and the receding tide, perhaps pondering on the very modern notion of a disappearing tradition. Curator: That's quite evocative! Editor: Well, to me, it seems this is precisely what Delizy’s trying to convey! Curator: It really brings forth the complexity of interpreting even such a simple scene. It’s far from straightforward. Editor: Exactly. Materials, labor, representation, recreation… All linked by a silver gelatin print!