Gezicht op Londen en de Thames before 1899

Editor: So, this is "Gezicht op Londen en de Thames", a gelatin silver print dating back to before 1899, by John H. Gear. It strikes me as quite moody – all that mist and those tall ships on the river…what do you see in this piece? Curator: Well, darling, I see a memory, almost a dream of London. Think about it – late 19th century, photography still finding its footing as art. This isn't just a snapshot; it’s an attempt to capture the essence, the soul of a place, like a love letter written in monochrome. Do you get a sense of that longing for atmosphere? Editor: I think so. It definitely feels romanticized, not gritty. What’s with the portrait next to it? It looks completely different in subject and form. Curator: Good eye! Yes, a contrast of the city scape of The Thames and formal portraits on the right! Note that these collections of artworks assembled as “portrait studies” where photographs capture human expressions and gestures frozen for posterity in silver emulsion! Do you see a similar element present on the Thames photo? The subject has stopped…in a suspended moment in time. Editor: So, it is stopping a scene or a person in their moments… How would you contrast both images together? Curator: Think of Thames photograph with its depiction of atmosphere! Each photo capturing an ethereal mood, but from different elements - nature (sky and fog) versus social elements such as humanistic emotion! Editor: That's a fantastic way to look at it. I hadn't considered the photographs freezing certain emotional themes! I’ll remember to carry those threads of emotions. Curator: Exactly! Keep chasing the feeling and let the art whisper its stories to you.