Gezicht op een gondel met de stad Venetië op de achtergrond before 1899

This monochrome photograph of a gondola in Venice by Otto H. Müller evokes the romanticism associated with the city. Venice, with its unique geography and history as a major maritime power, became a popular subject for artists in the 19th and early 20th centuries. Müller’s image taps into this established visual culture, presenting Venice as a place of beauty and tranquility. The gondola, a traditional Venetian boat, further emphasizes this romantic view, seemingly frozen in time. The photograph appears within a book alongside an essay. This act of publishing the image within a journal or collection speaks to the rise of photography as a tool for documentation and artistic expression, embraced by institutions and salons. To truly understand this image, we might consult historical archives, travel literature, and exhibition records. These sources can reveal how Venice was perceived and represented at the time, and the institutional and artistic contexts in which Müller's photograph was created and consumed.