Breite Strasse en op de achtergrond het Berliner Stadtschloss, Berlijn 1868 - 1870

Curator: What a serene composition! I am immediately drawn to the quiet solitude the image conveys. Editor: I find the same pull. This is a gelatin-silver print, dating back to between 1868 and 1870. It's attributed to Johann Friedrich Stiehm and shows ‘Apeldoorn: Louisa tempel Park het Loo.' Curator: It's interesting how the location inscription positions the photo commercially, as a form of early advertising of the space, while the pictorialist style, reminiscent of painting, adds to its artistic legitimacy. What is most arresting is the play of light and shadow around that distant pavilion, which evokes a sense of discovery. Editor: Yes, the light leads the eye! A pavilion within the woods frequently alludes to hidden wisdom, the possibility of sacred spaces concealed within the everyday landscape. The symbolism has been present since antiquity. Curator: Do you think that the figures on the pathway suggest an intentional narrative, or are they there to situate the scale and underscore accessibility to the middle classes? The park must have represented the enlightened principles that marked much of 19th century cultural policies across Europe. Editor: Perhaps a little of both. These sorts of landscapes were meant to improve and edify through the pleasure of viewing beautiful artifice. But also, the presence of the figures serves as symbolic way-pointers to invite viewers to venture toward illumination through the exploration of a structured, cultivated nature. Curator: Indeed, the photo presents nature and cultural improvements as parts of the same movement. Thanks for bringing out these subtle clues to read beyond the immediate scene before our eyes. Editor: My pleasure! It’s these quiet visual narratives that continue to draw me back to these kinds of images.