Gezicht op Lombard Street te Londen c. 1890 - 1910

Curator: Looking at this gelatin silver print from around 1890 to 1910, attributed to Eduard Frederik van de Waereld, titled “Gezicht op Lombard Street te Londen” – which translates to “View of Lombard Street in London” – I’m immediately struck by the overwhelming sense of density. It’s pure city. Editor: Oh, absolutely. It's like stepping into a time capsule of London hustle. All that gray and sepia just layers on the smoggy atmosphere. It almost feels claustrophobic. Like everyone is pressing in from every direction, not leaving space for air to breath. What I mean is that as street photography it is quite something. Curator: I see what you mean by claustrophobic! But think about what the image offers the viewer. We see not only London street-life, the carriages and pedestrians caught in their daily routines, but we see that life through a Pictorialist lens, that artistic movement infusing photography with painterly qualities, softening edges. That lends it that ethereal feel. Editor: Yes, there's that undeniable artistic blur, turning documentary into dreamscape. It almost romanticizes the city bustle, doesn’t it? But still, imagining navigating that chaos daily gives me hives! And the material objects feel so dense, those crates and carriages weighing the scene further. Was that the public image of the street back then? Curator: Precisely. Photography in this period, heavily influenced by social and artistic currents, began constructing a public image, often idealized, but always with the weight of societal narrative. It becomes a visual artifact of how London wanted to see itself at the turn of the century. The question for me is how did this aesthetic frame and possibly reframe that view. Editor: A great point. It highlights that public identity, captured in that moment of industrial and urban expansion. You almost miss the everyday struggles hidden behind this facade, those who existed in the margins of that 'civilized' urban landscape. It has the density, though... doesn't it almost suffocate them from memory. I will let that linger... Curator: An important observation, highlighting how even supposedly objective images are laden with social filters. Thank you, it provides valuable perspectives into this scene and a richer historical understanding.