Gezicht op Bordeaux 1862 - 1876

Curator: This striking image before us is entitled "Gezicht op Bordeaux", or "View of Bordeaux", a photograph captured by Jean Andrieu sometime between 1862 and 1876. Editor: Wow, what strikes me first is just how dense and clustered everything appears. It's a sea of rooftops stretching out as far as the eye can see. Kind of claustrophobic, yet also, paradoxically, expansive. Curator: Absolutely. It presents Bordeaux through the objective, almost scientific lens that photography uniquely offered in the mid-19th century. Andrieu was very interested in urban life. The image offers us insight into the spatial organization and architectural characteristics of a rapidly evolving city. Editor: Thinking about it more, the tones add so much. That sepia wash makes the buildings feel warm, organic, and almost alive. I wonder about the lives playing out under all those roofs. What stories did those walls witness? I can almost hear the murmur of the city rising like mist. Curator: A keen observation. The technological innovations in photography during this period had great social impact. Images like this one allowed the rise of postcards and became important commodities. Editor: Which puts this photograph in an interesting position; between being documentary and serving a commercial function. Making this vista more accessible than ever before. A snippet of reality commodified! Curator: Precisely! These photographic records also provided valuable insights into urban development and its repercussions. So while offering a certain aesthetic experience, also allowed contemporaries, and us today, to observe how space can shape behavior and reflect the power structures of its time. Editor: Yes, it feels like peering through a time machine. This has left me daydreaming, wondering how Bordeaux's urban fabric reflects its past, its ambitions, and, above all, its soul. Thank you for helping illuminate these subtle clues in front of our eyes!