Gezicht op een brug over een rivier before 1883

Jules Martiny made this photograph of a bridge over a river in Belgium at an unknown date, and it was entered into a photography competition in 1883. The image itself presents a rather conventional, picturesque scene: trees line the riverbank, and the bridge and buildings are reflected in the water. But what makes this photograph interesting is its institutional context. It was chosen to illustrate the Bulletin of the Association Belge de Photographie, which was under the patronage of the King. This tells us that photography in Belgium at this time was tied up with national pride and royal power. The Association organized competitions to promote the art of photography, and the Bulletin disseminated their activities and thinking to its members. To understand this photograph fully, we would want to look at the Bulletin itself, at the rules of the competition, and at the other photographs that were chosen for publication. By situating this image within its institutional context, we can begin to understand the social life of photography in 19th-century Belgium.