Gezicht op St. Mary's Church te Rye 1870 - 1890

Curator: This photograph by E.T. Casson, taken between 1870 and 1890, offers a fascinating perspective of St. Mary's Church in Rye. It is titled "Gezicht op St. Mary's Church te Rye." Editor: Immediately, I am struck by the texture—the granular quality of the stone against the stark simplicity of the frame surrounding it. It's a photograph within a photograph, it seems. It definitely makes the building loom monumentally above, almost pushing it off the image. Curator: Yes, that looming quality speaks to the civic role the church played, not just religiously, but as a central, visual symbol of Rye's identity. The framing gives it prominence. It becomes a representation of community, permanence. Editor: And looking at the materials—the heavy stone, that impressive clock tower—I wonder about the laborers who built this, their own material conditions, and their relationship to this dominant structure. The social layers become pretty visible if you dig deeper into its construction and use, no? Curator: Precisely. A church like this also embodied hierarchical power. The careful craftsmanship and the grandeur speak to a specific form of patronage and control, a physical manifestation of power relations within the society. I find the implied question of who can claim and own the city's narrative fascinating in this one. Editor: It also makes me consider what it meant to document this, to reproduce an image of this monumental structure. The rise of photography in this era democratizes the image to some degree, while also maybe subtly reinforces the importance of this structure. Curator: Exactly! And consider the effect of circulating such images – St. Mary’s becomes an exportable signifier of Rye, a controlled projection of civic identity through the mass reproduction and distribution of photographs like this. It becomes iconic through accessibility. Editor: Right, something available as a print, a take-away. Interesting. I am drawn to the way labor is present, yet sort of unseen—in the architecture and in its photographic reproduction, of course. Curator: Ultimately, both aspects are part of the story: it speaks of craft, labor, civic pride, and yes, social structures quietly encoded into both the making and the viewing of this striking image. Editor: Absolutely, this glimpse of Rye reminds me to consider all the hands involved.