Vier mannen op het dek van een schip 1904 - 1905

Curator: Jan Schüller captured this gelatin silver print, "Vier mannen op het dek van een schip"—"Four Men on the Deck of a Ship"—around 1904 or 1905. It now resides here at the Rijksmuseum. Editor: There's something so austere about this image. The muted tones of the gelatin silver process almost perfectly echo the presumed somber mood and clothing of the figures themselves. It evokes a profound feeling of transition or perhaps expectation. Curator: That starkness seems quite intentional. I see it as more than a document of seafaring life; look at how the men are positioned. The uniformity of their dress suggests a shared identity or purpose—perhaps they're officers, each representing a facet of the maritime spirit of their age? Editor: Perhaps, but I’m equally drawn to the physical materials. That gelatin silver print method wasn't simply about capturing an image, but engaging with a scientific process that involved mixing, coating, exposing, and developing—hands-on work. These weren’t just men at sea; it was about crafting a representational surface itself. Curator: Very true. Consider how the technology also serves the composition. The life boat looming in the background feels almost symbolic of an assured passage through troubled waters; the looming smokestack could represent either forward motion or something far more oppressive, of course. Editor: Or perhaps the life boat simply serves as a prop; its looming presence merely hints at how industrialization and technology had a real cost— the necessity of safety. Its curved and bolted frame reveals a tangible, crafted necessity that mirrors the labor of photography itself. Curator: So you perceive this photograph as an investigation of industry? Maybe I’ve become so absorbed by potential allegory that I’ve not paid enough attention to this materiality. Thanks, I didn’t quite understand how all that metal, wood, glass and darkroom chemistry was quite so resonant before. Editor: The materiality grounds it, doesn’t it? Hopefully a chance encounter like this reminds visitors that the objects were themselves worked. A little exposure helps with that interpretation!