Gedecoreerde schoorsteenmantel in het Brugse Vrije, Brugge 1870 - 1890

Curator: Right, so before us, we have an intriguing photographic print dating from 1870 to 1890, attributed to an anonymous photographer. It depicts a very ornamented mantelpiece in what appears to be the Brugse Vrije, in Bruges. Editor: My initial impression? Power. A grand declaration. It's theatrical, almost overwhelming. Like stepping into a historical drama set. I imagine that once lit, a hearth would soften all this stone, somehow domesticate these stone sentinels... Curator: You’ve hit on something essential. That juxtaposition of the domestic and the monumental is key here. This mantelpiece likely functioned as a visual symbol of authority, maybe even an ancestral altarpiece of sorts for powerful Flemish families, where their dynastic narratives would be proclaimed! Editor: Yes, look at those figures: gods, heroes, perhaps even ancestors elevated to legendary status. The whole composition speaks of lineage and inherited rights. Funny though, doesn’t photography sort of undercut the sculpture? Isn’t there something inherently ironic that such a permanent sculptural thing can be infinitely reproduced by something so ephemeral as photography? Curator: Good point. In those days photography was also a potent way to record and disseminate the existence and appearance of precious objects and architectural statements. Photography gave power in the same way! Think about who was being photographed here... the people memorialized in this fireplace and then those able to photograph this... Photography was allowing a new, growing class to connect and collect items they valued! It's as though they sought to capture and almost possess this grandeur through the photograph itself. Editor: It's a hall of mirrors, of ambition reflecting ambition. One medium bolstering another! Curator: Exactly! What seemed old can then seem brand new! These aren't relics— they're touchstones for future stories. Editor: That intersection is fascinating. Thank you! Now I am wondering what other such artifacts went around photographed in such a way and why these in particular were so desirable.