Gezicht op de Cours du Chapeau-Rouge te Bordeaux 1862 - 1876

Editor: Here we have Jean Andrieu's "Gezicht op de Cours du Chapeau-Rouge te Bordeaux," a daguerreotype taken sometime between 1862 and 1876. It’s interesting how the double image creates this ghostly, almost dreamlike feel to a very architectural scene. What’s your interpretation of it? Curator: It is ghostly, isn't it? Like peering through a sepia-toned memory. This stereo view gives us a sense of depth that was cutting-edge back then. Beyond the novelty, I think it offers a fascinating snapshot of 19th-century urban life, romanticised, of course. Notice how the classical architecture of the building anchors the image while the horse-drawn carriages hint at the pace of change. Makes me wonder: were people already nostalgic for the "good old days" even then? Editor: It’s funny you mention that. I hadn’t considered it as nostalgic. I saw it more as a document of the era, capturing a very specific moment in Bordeaux. Curator: True, it is a document, but photography, even then, was never truly objective. The choices Andrieu made, the framing, the long exposure blurring the moving figures—these all contribute to a certain mood. The sharp detail on the architecture paired with the ghosting gives a sense of what abides against the temporal changes. Don't you think? Almost elegiac. Editor: I get what you're saying. It’s like he's immortalizing this moment, the architecture, the atmosphere... Thanks for pointing that out. It’s given me a completely different perspective on it. Curator: Anytime! It’s pieces like this, I think, that help us touch the past and to feel the pulse of time. I think it makes for some wonderfully soulful viewing.