Gezicht op een kade in Napels met een vuurtoren c. 1860 - 1880

Editor: This captivating photograph by Giorgio Sommer, taken sometime between 1860 and 1880, offers a stereoscopic "Gezicht op een kade in Napels met een vuurtoren," or a view of a quay in Naples with a lighthouse. The sepia tones create this really interesting, almost nostalgic feeling, and the tiny figures on the pier really draw you in. What stands out to you in this image? Curator: Isn't it lovely? It evokes a certain wistful contemplation, doesn't it? Like a half-remembered dream. The photograph freezes a bustling harbour scene in time; the tall ships in the background, the procession making its way down the pier toward that resolute lighthouse. And the stereoscopic format – two images side-by-side –hints at a desire to capture not just the look of a place, but also its feel. What do you make of that procession, all those figures marching? Editor: It seems very ordered, very purposeful. Military perhaps? It does stand in stark contrast to the implied chaos of a busy port. Curator: Indeed! And aren't those contrasts wonderful? Order against the unpredictable sea, human endeavour against nature's immensity. Think about the photographer's choices here. The elevated viewpoint...that decision to focus on human activity framed by the harbour...It makes me wonder what he hoped viewers would consider. Editor: That's really helpful to think about. I initially just saw the prettiness of the scene, but now it makes me think more about the relationship between the people and their environment, or even between ambition and something far grander. Thanks for opening my eyes to that! Curator: Absolutely, and perhaps that is photography’s unique magic – the capacity to be both an exact document and an evocation, both concrete and wonderfully, beautifully, open.