Gezicht op de Spree vanaf de Fischerbrücke in Berlijn 1785

Curator: Johann Georg Rosenberg created this fascinating cityscape around 1785, titled "View of the Spree from the Fischerbrücke in Berlin". Editor: It feels serene, almost melancholic. The pale tones and the slightly blurry details give it the feel of a half-forgotten memory. Curator: That atmospheric quality stems, in part, from Rosenberg’s technique. He employs a delicate balance of light pencil work alongside older engraving techniques, creating this ethereal vision using ink printed on toned paper. The medium lends itself to the evocation of this particular time. Editor: Absolutely. You can really see the old engraving style here. There's such clarity to the buildings along the Spree and the rigging details on those boats. It does make me wonder what the lives of those figures poling their way down the river were like. What kinds of changes was Berlin undergoing at the time? Curator: Berlin in the late 18th century was a city in the throes of transformation. Frederick the Great had invested heavily in its infrastructure and cultural institutions. As this engraving suggests, it was becoming an important trading center along that waterway. Its rise and social development, its increasing international profile, certainly shaped Rosenberg's approach. It offered a new source of urban and architectural subject matter to showcase. Editor: And he framed that transformation with this elegant composition: The strong horizontals of the river, buildings, sky, balanced with the verticals of masts and architectural details. A simple organizational structure with so much textural richness. You really get the feeling of the artist working methodically in a sketchbook. Curator: The toned homemade paper provides a soft ground to everything and mutes the value contrast of all the detail in the engraving, contributing to a sense of immediacy. While providing information, the sketch still seems as if he produced it on site. It's almost documentary but so clearly aestheticized by Rosenberg's specific, artistic touch. Editor: Yes, in many ways Rosenberg both captured Berlin on the cusp of modernization, and subtly reflected the effect of social change upon artistic approach to cityscape. Thank you. Curator: And to observe how this artist used older and new methods to achieve something new. Always enriching.