Augustusbrunnen in Augsburg 1855 - 1885

Editor: So, here we have a photograph, a gelatin-silver print titled "Augustusbrunnen in Augsburg" and it's estimated to have been taken between 1855 and 1885 by Ferdinand Brauer. It has such a strong sense of place, a portrait of a specific moment in urban life. What do you see in this photograph? Curator: I see a dialogue between power and place. Look at the statue of Augustus, a figure from antiquity placed in the heart of Augsburg. The baroque fountain supporting him—spewing water, teeming with figures. What does that pose evoke for you, with his arm extended? Editor: Authority? Direction? Maybe a sense of ownership? Curator: Precisely! It is a deliberate claim, an assertion of Roman legacy over a Germanic city. Water, life-giving, also a symbol of cleansing, rebirth, but also power. The city uses Augustus, through his image, as a legitimizing force connecting them to ancient imperial authority. Do you think that is successful? Editor: It is an interesting visual strategy to connect past glory with present-day city life through monuments. It does feel…layered, historically speaking. Curator: The layers are precisely the point. This isn't just a fountain; it is a constructed narrative, frozen in bronze and water and captured in a photographic moment, linking Augsburg to the grand sweep of Western civilization. It’s all about how cities construct their identity, isn’t it? What do you take away? Editor: How even something as seemingly straightforward as a city fountain can be dense with historical and cultural meaning. It gives the mundane monumental weight.