Rennweg No. 23, Palais Senior Durchlaucht des Fürsten Metternich c. 1860s

Editor: We're looking at a print, "Rennweg No. 23, Palais Senior Durchlaucht des Fürsten Metternich," dating from the 1860s. It’s an anonymous silver print photography work. There's something very stark about this building; its imposing façade fills the frame. What should we make of this image? Curator: Well, consider the context. This photograph captures the Palais Metternich, a site loaded with political significance. Klemens von Metternich, the building’s namesake, was a central figure in 19th-century European politics, a key architect of the post-Napoleonic order. What do you think an image like this does? Editor: It definitely monumentalizes him and his power. A frozen moment that feels permanent. But is that what it was trying to do? Curator: That's a great question. The act of photographing architecture like this was very much about asserting a kind of order, wasn't it? Think about photography’s rise alongside nation-building and imperial projects. Representing power structures. Editor: So, photography almost served as a tool of the state in some ways, legitimizing the status quo through carefully constructed images. How much were they considering public perception versus documentation, do you think? Curator: Both. Images like this circulate in albums and, perhaps, government publications. But the photograph’s existence is evidence. Who is building these places? Who’s photographing them? It all intertwines, doesn’t it? Editor: It certainly gives me a new lens to look through. I never considered how complicit or intertwined something like photography could be with political power! Curator: Exactly. It makes you rethink what it represents beyond just a pretty picture.