Voorgevel van de woning van de familie Gensfleisch te Mainz before 1872

Editor: This photograph, taken by B. Erdmann before 1872, captures the facade of the Gensfleisch family home in Mainz. It’s a rather stark image, almost clinical in its realism, but I can't help but wonder about the family within those walls. What stories does this building hold? Curator: The rigid lines, the closed shutters… do they suggest a sense of privacy, perhaps even repression, characteristic of that era's burgeoning bourgeoisie? Think about the cultural weight a home carried, not just as shelter, but as a symbol of status and heritage. The Gensfleisch family – does that name echo any significance for you? Editor: I want to say it sounds familiar but I'm not sure why… maybe German history? Curator: Indeed. Gensfleisch was the family name of Johannes Gutenberg. Doesn't that alter your perception? Now it’s not just a building, but a relic tied to a pivotal figure, the inventor of the printing press. That open window, seemingly the only one, invites our eye... It breaks from the pattern, becomes symbolic of Gutenberg's opening of knowledge. What do you think? Editor: That's fascinating! The window becomes like a portal, the only break in an otherwise stern and impenetrable facade. The photo's starkness now reads like reverence, an attempt to preserve something monumental in its simplicity. I missed all of this, thank you! Curator: It’s how images and symbols work, layered through time. They hold memories, histories... meaning waiting to be unlocked, one gaze at a time. I think that considering how symbols of Gutenberg have been circulated and reproduced ever since the invention of the printing press adds so much more meaning to the family building as it becomes an anchor to the circulation of that person, event, or moment in history. Editor: I learned so much about iconography. Thank you.