Go en Jan Kessler op de Basteibrug in Saksen c. 1910

Curator: What strikes me immediately is the palpable stillness in this image. Editor: That's it. There's a solemn air. Curator: We're looking at a photograph entitled "Go en Jan Kessler op de Basteibrug in Saksen", captured around 1910 by Hermann Johannes (Boelie) Kessler. It features two figures on the Bastei Bridge, Saxony. Kessler was a member of my family, by the way, my cousin. I remember well growing up with his photographies. Editor: You can just about feel the mist clinging to that stone. It almost seems staged, like a tableau vivant, you know? They could be figures in a dream or a memory, these travelers are heading to some other place in their life, maybe, probably better. Curator: Indeed, the figures are meticulously placed to draw the eye along the bridge and into the depth of the landscape. The bridge itself becomes a symbolic path. It could refer to an internal and life-changing change or trip, you'd be surprised about the history behind the Kessler family if I would tell it all, cousin! Editor: The heavy use of blacks and grays. Makes it feel older even than its age... as though the photo, not just the figures, has aged with secrets it can't speak. It invites melancholy and is probably also influenced by Pictorialism. Don't you think? Curator: Certainly, Pictorialism valued aesthetic effect above sharp focus, so it can explain the blurry image. I believe Kessler aimed to create a timeless image, one that blends the romance of the landscape with the intimacy of a portrait. Editor: You have the feeling they have always been there in this spot. Curator: Very possibly... And while photography is celebrated by everyone today, in those days, it wasn't at all self-evident that photographs could be considered 'real art'. Editor: Funny world! Curator: Funny times, anyway... Well, it's certainly provided us with plenty to ponder here. Thank you, I think I need to give my cousin more time now! Editor: Thank you as well. What a photograph! What a tale.