Gezicht op het stadhuis in Wernigerode c. 1890 - 1895

Editor: This photograph, "Gezicht op het stadhuis in Wernigerode" by E. Rose, taken sometime between 1890 and 1895, offers a really detailed view of this building. It almost feels like a postcard. What is your read on this image? Curator: I find it fascinating how this image exists at the intersection of civic pride and technological advancement. Consider how photography was still relatively new, and how its dissemination often served the purpose of promoting a certain image, a certain ideal, of progress and order. This particular image, a staged photograph printed as a collectible, participated in promoting civic engagement through visually highlighting administrative locations. Editor: So the distribution method really shaped how it was viewed? Curator: Precisely! In a period of intense social change, readily available photographic postcards played a pivotal role in cultivating a collective understanding and shared pride of the place, shaping its public identity and cementing local power structures. What is particularly noteworthy is that even in what may seem like a neutral image, careful planning goes into framing a perspective for its public audience. Note the clock; there is no spontaneity here. Editor: I see what you mean about its intent and that it's very composed, almost artificial in how neatly it presents the building. I suppose I hadn't considered photography itself as being something that could promote a particular social view. Curator: It's easy to look at a picture from the past and consider it simple historical fact. However, the intentional staging of a photograph and its role in larger systems are both essential elements in truly understanding any artwork, no matter how mundane it may seem. Editor: Thanks, that's definitely given me a lot to think about!