Gezicht op een onbekend persoon op een trap before 1902

Curator: So here we have a photograph by Hugo Henneberg, dating back to before 1902, titled "Gezicht op een onbekend persoon op een trap." It's a gelatin silver print, presented in an open book alongside Kodak advertising. What catches your eye first? Editor: An air of melancholic stillness, absolutely stunning. The almost severe symmetry, the subdued tonality, it's as if time has slowed to a crawl. I immediately think about Barthes' idea of the punctum—that little prick that wounds you and pulls you into the photograph—it’s working hard in this one. Curator: I'm intrigued by your focus on Barthes. For me, the emotional resonance is subtler. Henneberg, often linked to pictorialism, seems to play with impressionistic ideas, blurring the lines of sharp realism through tone. Note how he situates the figure on the stair – alone, in deep shade – as though embarking on a journey inward. Editor: Yes, the person on the staircase becomes almost secondary, dissolving into the textured landscape of light and shadow, barely a figure! However, I am distracted by its composition, how these tall trees are functioning as framing devices. They offer that claustrophobic sense of depth, compelling your eyes towards the person standing at the doorway at the top. It also contributes to this dramatic, almost theatrical setting, wouldn't you agree? Curator: It's interesting you use the word theatrical, because I am not quite sure the composition suggests staging here. Maybe Henneberg just aimed for a particular effect in this artwork, with the atmospheric perspective serving as a metaphor for something much larger—an attempt to explore the fleeting and subjective nature of human experience. Editor: Perhaps it's a tension between staging and seizing a transient moment—that very pictorialist concern, no? Henneberg seems to capture something deeply authentic while still clearly shaping the scene, highlighting photography’s power. Curator: Absolutely, beautifully observed! This image stands not only as a testament to a particular aesthetic of its time, but as an insight into how our views and the very nature of image-making evolve. Editor: So true! It just makes you see photography—or even just images—in a completely different way!