Gezicht op de Promenade des Anglais in Nice, gezien vanuit het Hôtel des Anglais c. 1887 - 1892

Editor: This albumen print, "View of the Promenade des Anglais in Nice, seen from the Hotel des Anglais" by Neurdein Frères, was taken sometime between 1887 and 1892. It has a hazy, dreamlike quality. What first strikes you about it? Curator: The hazy quality is quite evocative, isn’t it? For me, that sepia tone immediately triggers a sense of cultural memory, a romantic gaze cast back to the Belle Époque. Consider how the viewpoint itself, high above the Promenade, lends a sense of detached observation. The Promenade, named after the English visitors, becomes a symbol of leisurely cosmopolitanism. Does the repetition of forms – the palm trees, the lines of buildings – suggest anything to you? Editor: I see what you mean. It does feel staged, almost like a theatrical backdrop. I guess that the repetition gives it a feeling of established, almost rigid order? Curator: Exactly. Now think about the function of a promenade, a place of spectacle and being seen. The camera captures not just the physical space, but also the *idea* of Nice as a fashionable destination. And beyond the tangible buildings, doesn't this image suggest something about how cultures encounter and represent each other? Editor: The Promenade being named after the English, the photo being taken by French photographers. It all layers together. Curator: Indeed! This is cultural encoding at work. The beach and seaside embody particular psychological effects associated with tourism: of leisure, affluence and what could be considered superficial engagement between different social milieus and classes? It's a reminder that images, like cultural symbols, carry layered histories and meanings. Editor: That's fascinating; I had only seen it as a pretty view. I’ll never see tourist photography the same way again. Curator: Nor I, I hope!