Stadsgezicht van Londen c. 1860 - 1915

Curator: This is "Stadsgezicht van Londen," or "Cityscape of London," a gelatin-silver print likely made sometime between 1860 and 1915. Editor: It evokes a stillness, almost dreamlike. The tonal range feels quite compressed, heightening the contrast and flattening the scene. The whole structure leans on this beautiful horizon. Curator: Yes, notice how the Thames is essentially acting as a mirror. But there’s also this fascinating cultural layering taking place. Look at Cleopatra’s Needle, for example, plunked down on the Embankment. A monument of ancient Egyptian power, re-contextualized within the landscape of the British Empire. Editor: Right, and the river itself becomes this artery, circulating power and resources. There’s something to be said about how it guides your eye through the photograph's careful composition. I like the use of repetition too. See how the structures are all marching left to right, in parallel, to converge around the monument. Curator: Absolutely. That obelisk also functions as a phallic symbol, suggesting masculine strength and dominance – attributes deeply tied to both the city’s and the Empire’s identities at the time. Then, you have the figures in the landscape... minuscule...almost engulfed by it. Editor: Indeed, those diminutive figures emphasize the overwhelming scale of urban ambition in this pictorial language. The photographer seems to be very intentional in their play of forms...light... shadow...and that obelisk acts almost as an arrow to heaven. Curator: Well, by looking at the way that symbols have been inserted into the architecture as well as nature of the space itself, we see a new relationship forming within culture, something that has evolved over centuries of imperial reign. Editor: Thinking about its material qualities... it also lends itself towards how photographers at the time could mold and craft their own world through light and shadow. This artwork makes me appreciate what we can make of history through photographs.