Gezicht op het monument van Georges Mouton te Phalsbourg before 1894

Editor: Here we have Charles Bernhoeft’s “Gezicht op het monument van Georges Mouton te Phalsbourg,” a gelatin silver print made before 1894. It depicts a statue in a town square. The print itself is quite striking; the texture almost feels like fabric. What stands out to you in this piece? Curator: It's intriguing how Bernhoeft uses this gelatin-silver print. We should consider the industrial processes required to create photographs during this period, connecting it to the wider economic systems that enabled its production and distribution. What's notable is that this photograph doesn't present the monument as some sort of timeless object but really grounds it within a very particular socio-economic context. Editor: Socio-economic, how so? Curator: Consider the very materiality of gelatin silver prints. Its mass production indicates advances in chemical industries and manufacturing, but also made art more accessible to the masses. Was this commissioned, and who consumed photographs of monuments at that time? These images served a very specific purpose beyond simple aesthetic pleasure. Editor: That's a good point. I hadn't considered photography as a manufactured object with a consumer base. Curator: Precisely! Also look at the statue. Public sculptures of prominent figures reflect specific political aims of that time. Editor: It makes you think about how the materials of art, whether it's bronze or a gelatin print, always carry social meaning. Thanks for pointing that out! Curator: Absolutely. It’s vital to look at what the means of production themselves tell us.