Album of Photographs from Captain Roald Amundsen Polar Exploration c. 1920s

This anonymous photograph from Captain Roald Amundsen's polar exploration is part of an album. It's fascinating how a single image can encapsulate such a sense of adventure and discovery. The sepia tones lend an air of nostalgia, a glimpse into a bygone era. Look at the detail in the architecture, the intricate balconies, and the gathered crowds. It’s all captured with such clarity, yet there's a dreamlike quality to it. The figures waving from the balconies, they're frozen in time, their excitement palpable even after all these years. There is a real material feel of the era about the tonal palette, from the paper to the clothes. This photograph reminds me a little of some of Gerhard Richter’s photo paintings, how he blurs the line between representation and abstraction. Like all great art, it invites us to reflect on our own relationship to the past and the stories we tell ourselves about history.