De Neptunusvijver in de tuinen van Versailles 1858

Curator: This stereoscopic photograph, titled "De Neptunusvijver in de tuinen van Versailles", presents a view of the Neptune Fountain, taken around 1858. Editor: My first thought is how striking the repetitive verticality is – the unwavering lines of the water jets, softened by the early photographic process. It's almost eerie, as if captured in a dream. Curator: Indeed. Stereoscopy itself is fascinating. These paired images, when viewed together, created an illusion of depth, simulating three-dimensionality, that must have amazed 19th-century audiences. It offered a mass-producible, tangible slice of Versailles. What were people purchasing and what stories were they internalizing when they brought these images home? Editor: It makes you wonder about the cultural fascination with Versailles, even then. Neptune, as a powerful sea god, usually represents control over chaos. I wonder, then, is this photo communicating mankind's supposed control over nature? Perhaps reinforcing social hierarchies too; power displayed through constructed environments, immortalized through imagery? Curator: Precisely! The material consumption of images like this reveals social aspirations. This early form of photography democratized the palace grounds to the middle class. How were viewers' own place within a complex web of economic and political power confirmed when engaging with works like this? The photo-chemical development processes, printing, distribution, all represent very real industry at this time. Editor: Interesting points. And even looking beyond Versailles, there's Neptune himself – the deity represents so much more than simple maritime authority, he represents wealth and dominance as well. Capturing Neptune’s fountain became a method of re-enacting the story of that status. Curator: So true. These early photographs act as interesting historical markers. They can give us glimpses of both artistry and production techniques used in the era and insight to a set of ideals and attitudes towards the social order. Editor: Ultimately, it is more than just water in a pond. This offers us, even today, a small look into how symbols were consumed by our predecessors, telling silent stories from another era.