De kust van Harlingen met wandelende mensen over de dijk. c. 1903

Curator: Before us, we have a gelatin-silver print, a photograph titled "De kust van Harlingen met wandelende mensen over de dijk," or "The Coast of Harlingen with People Walking on the Dike," created around 1903 by Frits Freerks Fontein Fz. Editor: Mmm, looking at it, I feel the chill of a northern wind, see the figures stooped slightly against it. It’s a world in sepia, people are walking. There's an old melancholy in it. Curator: Pictorialism certainly plays a role here, which was influential at the time. Fontein, through the realistic style, also draws the viewers to consider class dynamics at play on such recreational spaces. What do you make of that? Editor: Dynamics? The scale of everything presses down those small people on the dike as tiny specks against the landscape and sky. Curator: It seems, then, that landscape here overwhelms the human form. These silver gelatin prints offer an intriguing lens through which to study social norms and expectations of the time. Editor: Maybe there’s some silent story of family or loss here on that day? Curator: Possibly. In scrutinizing archival landscapes like these, we're prompted to interrogate narratives of modernity, particularly regarding industrial growth, class separation, labor, and urban development that characterize coastal communities. Editor: So much history in just one still little world. I love imagining the moments held, however fleeting. A world stopped, when really everything kept rushing on anyway... Curator: Precisely, this photo holds more than what meets the casual eye, making it worth considering in the context of art and culture in that era. Editor: A ghost from a morning. It felt nice to dream into it together!