Gezicht op Rue d'Antibes te Cannes 1896

Curator: Editor: This is Étienne Neurdein's "Gezicht op Rue d'Antibes te Cannes," taken in 1896. It's a photograph, capturing a street scene. I'm struck by the everyday feel, the people going about their business. What historical narratives do you see unfolding in this image? Curator: What I see is a carefully constructed representation of class and commerce in late 19th-century Cannes. Consider the deliberate composition – the wide street, the placement of figures, and the shop signs. Who is this image for? Whose story does it tell, and whose does it erase? Editor: That’s interesting, I was focusing on the realism of it. So, are you saying that this "realism" is actually staged to present a specific point of view? Curator: Precisely! Think about the concept of the flâneur, the detached male observer wandering through the city. This image seems to offer that perspective, but we need to question that. Where are the women in this scene, and what roles are they allowed to occupy? Are there power dynamics at play in framing the working class this way? Editor: I hadn't considered the flâneur aspect and the implications for gender. It's making me rethink the gaze within the image itself. Curator: Exactly. Now consider that Neurdein was catering to a growing tourist market. How does this image romanticize or sanitize Cannes for potential visitors? What’s being sold here beyond just the scene itself? Editor: So it's not just a picture of a street, but a marketing tool, subtly reinforcing social and economic hierarchies. It really makes you consider who benefits from these types of images. Curator: Absolutely! And by understanding that, we can start to unpack the broader cultural and political contexts in which it was created and consumed. Editor: I’ll definitely look at images with a new set of questions from now on! Thank you for highlighting the nuances within what seems like a simple snapshot.