Zuilengang in het Camposanto te Pisa c. 1850 - 1880

Curator: We’re looking at “Zuilengang in het Camposanto te Pisa,” a photograph, a gelatin-silver print, by Enrico van Lint, taken sometime between 1850 and 1880. It resides here at the Rijksmuseum. Editor: Immediately, I'm struck by how incredibly still and echoing it feels. The photograph really captures the palpable weight of history there, all those gothic arches receding into the distance, almost blurring the line between what’s substantial and what is not. Curator: It is striking, isn’t it? You have this almost rhythmic repetition of the arches and their shadows. Given Van Lint’s process – the gelatin silver print, and what it would've meant to be creating images at that moment in history – think about the chemical processes at play, the material reality of creating and circulating these architectural views for, likely, a growing tourist market. Editor: It’s fascinating to think of photography at this stage, moving from an innovative technique to a commodity, and all the labor that underpinned it. Those sharp lines of shadow and light suddenly feel more... calculated, a constructed view for consumption. Not quite "romantic," but romanticized. Curator: Indeed. What seems spontaneous is often carefully produced and sold. Consider how a tourist in the late 19th century would encounter this photo – likely as a souvenir or keepsake – and how that informs their view of Pisa. Editor: The very act of photographing is a kind of labor and consumption of space, reducing this magnificent site into a conveniently sized image to take home and boast about. The material is both the photo but also what that means about society’s access to it. It speaks volumes, and perhaps not as originally intended. Curator: It adds a layer of reflection beyond mere representation; a story that’s layered. Makes me look at the image itself as another type of object. Editor: Yes. It’s really about thinking on what is the image meant for, versus the image as material culture that also gives evidence for economy, class and tourism of the moment. It makes you appreciate it for more than the sum of its...silver particles.