Kade met schepen in Woudrichem, op de achtergrond de stadswal c. 1900 - 1910

Editor: So, this photograph, "Kade met schepen in Woudrichem, op de achtergrond de stadswal," by G. Hidderley, dated around 1900 to 1910... it's a gelatin-silver print, giving it this lovely, almost dreamy quality. What immediately strikes me is how much the walled cityscape dominates the boats; it feels like the people in those boats are living *under* this massive city wall. What do you make of that? Curator: It's interesting that you picked up on that sense of imposing architecture. We see these walled cities all over Europe and they always suggest a hierarchy of power – a delineation between who is inside and who is out, who is protected and who isn’t. Look at the boats themselves; they aren’t grand merchant ships. They are modest, working vessels. Editor: That makes sense. The scale is something I didn’t notice immediately, but these are workboats. It highlights a huge contrast between those in charge of building and maintaining the city versus these working-class people, just trying to survive. It suggests the power dynamics, right? Curator: Exactly. How do you think the then-contemporary photographic exhibitions might have displayed such imagery to a wide audience? It brings awareness to certain living or working situations in different regions. Editor: Hmm…Maybe it was meant to both romanticize a bygone era and subtly critique those socio-political inequalities, perhaps even encourage civic responsibility? That’s something I'd like to research further. Thank you! Curator: You’ve hit upon an important point. Images like this become part of the larger visual rhetoric shaping social policy, making this far more than simply a pretty photograph. This was enlightening; I now have some new things to think about, too.