Gezicht op Rügen in de Oostzee 1889 - 1893

Willem Frederik Piek Jr. captured this photograph titled 'Gezicht op Rügen in de Oostzee', or 'View of Rügen in the Baltic Sea', during a time of significant social and artistic change. The late 19th and early 20th centuries saw the rise of photography as both a documentary tool and an art form. Piek, working in this evolving medium, presents us with a landscape that invites contemplation. There's a serene quality to the image, a quiet stillness that evokes a sense of romanticism, yet the choice of the scene itself—a view of Rügen, a German island in the Baltic— situates it within a specific cultural and geographical context. Consider the gaze Piek offers us. Is he inviting us to see the land through his eyes, or is he perhaps presenting a vision of nature untouched by the industrialization of the era? As you stand here, what do you see? What do you feel?