Standbeeld van een man met een zwaard in Sint-Petersburg c. 1860 - 1880

Curator: This photograph, taken sometime between 1860 and 1880 by Alfred Lorens, presents a somewhat eerie stereoscopic view of a statue in Saint Petersburg. It's a gelatin silver print. What are your immediate impressions? Editor: Eerie is right. I see what looks like a Roman gladiator guarding... nothing, really. A somewhat desolate cityscape caught in sepia tones. There's a certain frozen grandeur to it all. Kind of unsettling actually. Curator: Indeed. The photograph emphasizes the sculpture as a symbol of power. Look at how it dominates the foreground, positioned to evoke ideas about Russia's imperial strength during that era. Editor: Imperial strength or perhaps the pretense of it? The muted tones make me think more about decay than power, you know? The city feels… vacant, even if its a photo that invites double-take through its mirrored stereo design. There’s something poignant about that staged presentation. Curator: An interesting observation! Gelatin silver prints allowed for a great amount of detail; by embracing this new technology Lorens may be attempting to capture a seemingly objective rendering of Russian Imperialism. Editor: Details are all well and good but don't allow an experience or an attitude when visiting the photograph. I’m fixated on this statue of what might even be interpreted now as a young-looking boy. Look at its smooth texture and the way it is lit, which has almost an intimidating but sterile gleam about it, like we should keep our distance or else be eternally cast in gelatin-silver ourselves! The artist might mean to say a picture is worth a thousand words and here is its objective view - the problem with photography however, and where true subjectivity is derived- is its capture. Curator: You know, that's a very interesting perspective, highlighting the latent tensions of a photograph, and inviting us to remember what happened soon after, particularly with the revolutionary movements. Thanks for your thoughts. Editor: Likewise, it's made me see beyond the stoicism in it— almost makes one feel as though you're spying on an ancient empire, even. Let's keep philosophizing and perhaps visit the work another time!