Gezicht op de Guadalquivir en de haven van Sevilla 1862 - 1876

Editor: This is Jean Andrieu's "View of the Guadalquivir and the Port of Seville," a gelatin-silver print from sometime between 1862 and 1876. It feels incredibly still and structured, almost like a blueprint rather than a lived space. What strikes you most about this print? Curator: It's the overt emphasis on the mechanisms of commerce. Consider the gelatin-silver process itself – a product of industrial chemistry. Note the presence of railway lines, cutting straight through the scene, facilitating the rapid movement of goods. Editor: I see what you mean. So, you’re saying the technology used to create the image and the content of the image both speak to the rise of industrial capitalism? Curator: Precisely. Even the perspective, a high vantage point, emphasizes control and oversight. What appears “still” to you is actually a frozen moment within a larger, rapidly changing system of production and exchange. What raw materials are arriving? What finished products are leaving? What social classes are impacted by this level of industry? The question really is, who benefits, and at what cost? Editor: That really shifts my perspective. I was initially focused on the aesthetic qualities, but now I see how deeply embedded this image is in the economic realities of the time. The very materiality of the print becomes a piece of evidence. Curator: Exactly. We should be less interested in the supposed "artistic genius" and more interested in the systems that made both the port and this image possible. Think about the labor involved, the global networks at play. Editor: This makes me think about the unseen stories behind every photograph, the socio-economic machine churning behind the final product. Thanks!