Interieur van de Hofkerk van Innsbruck met het grafmonument voor keizer Maximiliaan I before 1899

Curator: Take a look at this remarkable gelatin silver print from before 1899, "Interieur van de Hofkerk van Innsbruck met het grafmonument voor keizer Maximiliaan I," made by Photoglob & Co. currently residing at the Rijksmuseum. Editor: Oh, wow. It's… intense. The high gothic arches climbing towards unseen heights. I feel a slight chill just looking at it. Are those statues flanking what I assume is Maximilian's tomb? Curator: Exactly. There's a powerful contrast between the ethereal light filtering through the high windows and the heavy, monumental stonework. What's striking is that each element, from the soaring columns to the meticulously rendered statues, is a testament to craftsmanship. Consider the quarries that yielded this stone, the labor involved in transporting, carving, positioning everything. Each aspect is steeped in material implications. Editor: And consider, too, the human touch behind the camera— someone selecting the viewpoint, carefully positioning themselves. But to me, what comes across is a real attempt to grapple with mortality. Maximilian is physically gone, yet this massive tomb screams defiance, doesn't it? An attempt to cheat oblivion. Curator: In a way, absolutely. By immortalizing him through artistry and architecture, labor and resource, the church tries to prolong his legacy, his power. This is also about managing history. You also need to remember that even capturing this on camera involved a costly alchemy. Editor: It's amazing to think that Photoglob was selling images like these to people as mementos, almost postcards of grand monuments. Making such history… consumable. Curator: Exactly, the democratizing power of mass-produced prints! I am really drawn into the almost portrait-like framing around the church's interior which enhances a focus on craft and texture. Editor: I love that contrast - between the spiritual, eternal aspirations of the space and the grounded, material reality of how it was conceived and replicated for mass distribution. Gives you a whole other dimension to consider. Curator: Absolutely, now I see something very different now. The labor needed for a single picture of immortality.