Proces van Neurenberg: Seyss Inquart Possibly 1945 - 1946

Curator: This photograph, part of the Rijksmuseum collection, is titled "Process van Neurenberg: Seyss Inquart." It’s likely from 1945 or 46, captured by the Keystone Press Agency. It’s a gelatin silver print. Editor: Wow, it hits you, doesn't it? That somber grey... Feels like history breathing down your neck. Look at the weight of those gazes, almost like a haunting stage play. Curator: Indeed. Consider the historical weight embedded in this photographic print. The materiality of the gelatin silver process allows for sharp contrasts and fine details, essential for documenting such a significant event. The mass production of such prints allowed for wide dissemination, impacting public perception. Editor: Absolutely. But more than that, it's about these… faces. Seyss-Inquart looks almost contemplative. The cold light and shadows – it's practically screaming with untold stories, isn't it? Almost theatrical. You see his interiority projected outward for our…judgement? Curator: The composition emphasizes power dynamics: the defendants in the foreground, the guards looming behind. It highlights the judicial process itself, the controlled environment where accountability is supposedly enacted. What did it mean to be an objective observer, capturing it for posterity? And what did it do for the photographer to perform the act of observing without engaging? Editor: Yes, a critical distance… though is it possible? Still, think about it: someone framed this shot, decided on that precise moment, and by doing so, framed our memory of it. We see a moment, an instant…But what about outside the edges? It's a fragment, really. Curator: Exactly. And this fragment was then reproduced and disseminated on a massive scale. Consider the economic and political forces that underpinned its creation and distribution—shaping global consciousness about the atrocities of the Nazi regime. What is revealed when photographic evidence enters a trial? Editor: Well, suddenly that courtroom becomes a studio of sorts, with reality being…performed and judged through image making and mechanical production. I keep returning to the light here. It's oppressive. Curator: It underscores the gravity of the historical juncture… Editor: I think I'll be wrestling with those eyes all afternoon... Thanks for your insights. Curator: Likewise. This photo leaves so much unsaid.