Gezicht op de Église Saint-Morand d'Altkirch before 1894

Editor: This gelatin-silver print, “Gezicht op de Église Saint-Morand d'Altkirch,” taken before 1894 by Charles Bernhoeft, it gives me a tranquil and calming feeling. The soft focus almost romanticizes the church and the surrounding town. What stands out to you most in this image? Curator: Well, darling, it whisks me away to a time when life felt, perhaps, a touch slower, wouldn't you agree? The image is drenched in a wistful realism. It captures the way the light might kiss a quiet town square, doesn't it? But I can't help but think, what isn't shown, what isn't documented? Is it just pure photographic bliss, or are there hidden stories lurking? Editor: That's a great question. The stillness is deceptive, almost hiding a sense of work that’s underneath it. What I see here really inspires the urge to stroll through a less manicured existence for a bit, and, like, live there for a month! Curator: Oh, utterly! Doesn't it just make you want to pen a letter with a quill, sealed with wax? A snapshot of serenity… yet perhaps a touch too idyllic? Maybe he missed the mundane in pursuit of pretty. I wonder if the church bells really rang as sweetly as this photograph suggests? Editor: Perhaps it is better not knowing what’s not there. So many photos try too hard to give us information. What did we learn? Curator: Indeed! Maybe beauty lies not in what we capture, but what we leave to the imagination? It leaves us musing, pondering what else might linger unseen, much like a daydream flitting behind the eyes, hm?