Plein in Caïro met het ruiterstandbeeld van Ibrahim Pasja before 1905

Curator: Here we have a gelatin silver print taken sometime before 1905, titled "Plein in Caïro met het ruiterstandbeeld van Ibrahim Pasja," or "Square in Cairo with the equestrian statue of Ibrahim Pasha." It now resides here at the Rijksmuseum. Editor: It's wonderfully atmospheric. So stark and bright at the top, it fades into hazy gray toward the bottom where ordinary people and a scruffy dog populate the space, utterly dwarfed by the monument. There is something almost aggressively ordinary in the midst of the grandiosity. Curator: Absolutely, that juxtaposition is key! The photograph captures not just the statue itself but the social space it inhabits. Orientalism was the art movement, a vision of the East heavily filtered through Western eyes, romanticizing, exoticizing and often imposing colonial perspectives, of which we can find plenty of tropes in this photograph. Ibrahim Pasha, after all, was a significant figure in the modernization and westernization of Egypt. Editor: And doesn't the photograph reflect that tension? The monument to progress and power sits squarely on this very ancient ground. A person is wearing traditional clothing right in the lower corner of the picture and he feels more like an observer. Curator: The photographic medium adds another layer. Photography at the time, especially in colonial contexts, was often used as a tool of documentation and control, categorizing and presenting cultures through a specific lens. Editor: Exactly! Look how the light almost spotlights the statue, making it the clear focal point, while everything around it seems to dissolve. It emphasizes power but also this very specific, arguably artificial perspective on reality. Curator: It’s a useful reminder that even what seems like a straightforward representation can be loaded with subjective viewpoints and power dynamics. The architecture is amazing! And, the sky...It brings a question: Is this the beginning, or the end? Editor: It's thought-provoking to see how a single image can embody so many historical currents, from artistic style to colonial narratives to the everyday realities of people living within these monumental spaces. Curator: A dialogue between eras. That’s precisely what this artwork facilitates. Editor: Indeed! History caught in a silver gelatin moment.