Herengracht tussen het Thorbeckeplein en de Vijzelstraat, Amsterdam 1859

Editor: Here we have Pieter Oosterhuis's gelatin-silver print, “Herengracht tussen het Thorbeckeplein en de Vijzelstraat, Amsterdam,” taken in 1859. It depicts a serene canal scene; I’m curious about its hazy quality. What draws your attention in this work? Curator: I'm interested in the relationship between photography and labor in this period. This isn't just a pretty picture of Amsterdam. Consider the labour involved in creating the image: the preparation of the gelatin silver print, the very recent chemical developments required for the photograph to exist at all. What was photography's impact on labour at the time, do you think? Editor: That's an interesting angle! I hadn’t really considered that. I suppose it presented new kinds of opportunities and perhaps rendered some other jobs obsolete. Like, why hire a painter to make a portrait if you can just snap a photograph? Curator: Exactly! And consider the subject, the Herengracht. This canal wasn’t just scenery; it was a crucial waterway for commerce, deeply connected to Amsterdam's economic activity. Does seeing it rendered in photography, a technology still so nascent, alter your perspective on that relationship at all? Editor: It does. The photograph, while static, feels like it’s trying to capture a moment of bustling activity. Perhaps the softness in the photograph almost romanticizes the realities of industrialization at the time. What do you think was Oosterhuis’s goal? Curator: Perhaps to show a progressive nation via the photographic capture of it. I can't help but wonder how the very materiality of this photographic print--the specific chemicals, the paper-- shaped the perception of Amsterdam. We tend to separate the artistic and industrial, but this photograph really forces us to grapple with their entanglement, no? Editor: It certainly does. Seeing how the medium is linked to broader economic and societal shifts makes me appreciate this work on a deeper level. Thanks for sharing that perspective. Curator: Absolutely, I feel I will carry your insight on Romanticism with me, as well. It really brings the photograph's materiality into a fresh, historical context.