Gevels aan de binnenplaats van Slot Johannisburg in Aschaffenburg 1900

Curator: A certain stillness hangs over this old photograph. I feel drawn into the past, almost like a voyeur peeking through time itself. Editor: Indeed. We're looking at "Gevels aan de binnenplaats van Slot Johannisburg in Aschaffenburg," which translates to "Facades in the courtyard of Johannisburg Castle in Aschaffenburg." The photographer, whose name is unknown, captured this monochrome print around 1900, and it now resides in the Rijksmuseum collection. Curator: The symmetry is almost haunting, don't you think? Each window a portal, but to where, we can only guess. I notice a play between light and shadow— a characteristic of early photography. Editor: Absolutely. Consider the socio-political context of the time. Photography was rapidly developing and changing art production. The castle here is no longer a defensive structure but an image, and images of power were important to shaping public opinion. This image is fascinating from the perspective of both landscape and German Expressionism, too. Curator: It also suggests memory to me, that time washes all clean or fades to monotone, even the places that have meant the most in terms of historical and family life. Editor: It also presents some challenging conditions! I imagine early photographers didn't have the equipment to clarify what we consider imperfections in the picture today, such as haziness. Curator: The very imperfections become symbols of a lost world. You are looking back at what will not and cannot be recovered in all of its dimensions, even when one may have a picture, even in clear lighting! That is evocative. Editor: Precisely. Photographs like this allow us to witness history from an intimate perspective. How institutions and public spaces define memory and identity is an important part of our understanding culture. Curator: This image holds its silence, and asks us what meanings we will take, and give back. Editor: And with each viewing, perhaps, new meanings and layers are revealed.