Ophaalbrug en de Swych Utrecht bij de Doelen, Amsterdam 1860 - 1870

This is Pieter Oosterhuis’ stereograph, ‘Ophaalbrug en de Swych Utrecht bij de Doelen, Amsterdam’. It’s a photograph, yet the doubled image gives the feeling of a moving picture, or even a video. Oosterhuis was a pioneering photographer, living in a time when Amsterdam was rapidly expanding and modernizing. His work often documented the changing urban landscape. Think about this image as a kind of portrait of a city in flux. The bridge and surrounding buildings reflect the Dutch relationship with water, and the constant negotiation between land and sea. Consider how the invention of photography democratized image-making, providing a new way to capture and disseminate views of the world. Oosterhuis’ photographs invite us to reflect on how we document and remember urban spaces. The personal and the political are intertwined in the seemingly straightforward image, as the photograph turns the viewer into a tourist or an anthropologist.