Gezicht op een steeg in Pisa 1889 - 1893

Johanna Margaretha Piek captured this gelatin silver print of a street in Pisa sometime in the early 20th century. The circular vignette framing the image lends it a distinctly nostalgic, almost dreamlike quality, drawing our attention to the lone figure traversing the cobblestone street. Piek, working in a period marked by rapid social and technological change, offers us a glimpse into the everyday life of an Italian city. The architecture, with its arched openings and weathered facades, speaks to Pisa’s rich history as a powerful maritime republic during the medieval period. It’s worth noting how photography, as a relatively new medium at the time, was beginning to democratize image-making, offering women like Piek a means of artistic expression and social commentary. To fully understand the photograph, we might turn to archives and historical societies, to deepen our understanding of the artist's life and work, and of the social and cultural context of early 20th-century Pisa.