Zeilboten aan de kust van Ålesund before 1893

Paul Lange made this print of sailboats off the coast of Ålesund. It's a photograph, of course, and the process here is critical to understanding the image. Photography, a relatively new medium at the time, democratized image-making, taking it away from the skilled hand of the painter and offering it to anyone with a camera. This print shows a common scene of leisure. The textures of the sea and sky, the crisp lines of the boats – all captured through a chemical process that, in its own way, is as skilled as any brushstroke. Yet, this wasn't just about aesthetics; it was about documenting and sharing scenes of everyday life, blurring the lines between art and documentation. This photograph reminds us that even in seemingly straightforward images, the method matters. It’s not just what's depicted, but how it’s depicted, that gives the work its cultural and social weight.