Gezicht op Keulen met de Dom, gebouwen, kades en bruggen over de Rijn c. 1880 - 1900

Editor: Here we have "View of Cologne with the Cathedral, buildings, quays and bridges over the Rhine," an albumen print made sometime between 1880 and 1900 by Johann Heinrich Schönscheidt. There's a definite hazy, almost dreamlike quality to it, despite its documentary subject matter. What catches your eye in this photograph? Curator: Oh, that haze, it's like a memory, isn’t it? An attempt to hold onto something that's already slipping away. The Cathedral looming in the background… almost like a promise, or a threat depending on your disposition. The way the light falls on the water, though - it gives it an almost melancholic shimmer. It makes me wonder about the people walking along the quay. What were their stories? What did they see in that same Cathedral? Were they as awestruck as we might be now, or were they simply on their way to the baker? Editor: It's fascinating to think about those everyday stories playing out against this backdrop of such grand architecture. I find it intriguing how the artist chose this particular vantage point. Almost like we're spying on the city. Curator: Precisely! Like a voyeur peering into the past, but isn't that what we all do when we look at old photographs? We try to fill in the gaps, weave narratives where there are none. The very act of looking becomes a collaboration between the artist, the subject, and us. Do you suppose Schönscheidt was conscious of that power? Or was he simply trying to capture a pretty picture? Editor: It's a thought-provoking question. Either way, he’s captured more than just a pretty picture; he’s given us a glimpse into a bygone era and made us question our relationship with the past. Curator: Exactly! And that, my friend, is the magic of art – to spark questions, to ignite curiosity, to make us see the world in a slightly different light. It’s about what you feel. I always ask myself, is the artist capturing my feeling? In this image, he does, it really connects to you. It makes me appreciate what the feeling the city is conveying.