Nürnberg, Rathaus von W. c. 1930 - 1970

This is a photograph of Nürnberg's Rathaus, taken by Dr. Franz Stoedtner, sometime between the late 19th and early 20th century, though the exact date eludes me. What strikes me here is the gradient of tones, and the way the dark grey of the cobblestones in the foreground gradually lightens as the building recedes into the distance. There is a real dance of light and shadow in this photo, not so much a celebration of the architecture itself, but a study in how light articulates and defines it. Look at the variations in the stone surface. Stoedtner captures the nuances of each brick, finding a balance between detail and abstraction. And then, there are the tiny human figures dotted around the scene; they appear to be dwarfed by the scale of the building, which somehow only emphasizes its grandeur. It calls to mind the way that Atget used to take his photos of Paris, always striving to show the city as if it were a stage set, both solid and ephemeral. It's a photo that embraces the magic of ambiguity, inviting us to see the world anew.