Gezonken boot aan de Seine-oever tijdens de overstroming van Parijs 1910 - 1911

Curator: This gelatin-silver print, taken by G. Dangereux between 1910 and 1911, is titled "Sunken Boat on the Banks of the Seine during the Paris Flood". What’s your initial take? Editor: Bleak. Utterly, relentlessly bleak. The monochromatic palette, the submerged boat, the indistinct cityscape in the background—it's an image of societal fragility. Curator: Precisely! Dangereux has captured a very real moment of crisis. This flood was a major event, impacting all levels of Parisian society, from the working class to the aristocracy. This photo wasn’t staged in the studio but taken outdoors to reflect life truthfully. Editor: Notice the sharp horizontal line created by the quayside which really arrests the eye. This harsh border, along with the submerged vessel draws your gaze further toward the background that becomes progressively washed-out as though fading from memory, mirroring the effects of trauma on the city. Curator: The flood also sparked conversations about urban planning and infrastructure. Images like this became powerful tools to raise awareness about the city’s vulnerabilities. Editor: And while it captures this one historical moment in 1910-11 during the Paris Flood it is far from spontaneous; careful consideration and calculated arrangement across light and shade give this photograph its overall structure as though trying to rationalise a naturally irrational catastrophe. Curator: Right, by using gelatin-silver, a popular medium at the time, Dangereux also taps into a broader visual culture shaped by scientific advances and industrial modernity. Editor: But it's not purely documentary, either, isn't it? It speaks to our helplessness when faced with overwhelming forces. That overturned boat—it’s practically anthropomorphic, symbolizing loss. Curator: Perhaps Dangereux, in constructing this arrangement, wished to reflect upon such wider anxieties that resonate to this day. What do you think one would gain by visiting this in person? Editor: To feel that sobering silence in grayscale and comprehend its overall message.