Between Studio and Snapshot: Belle epoque Picture Postcards of Urban Statues

This article focuses on the photographs of public sculptures used on belle époque picture postcards of Brussels. The subject is approached from two perspectives. Firstly, we analyse the conventions of in situ photography of public sculpture in light of the genres reliance on painterly and photographic traditions, as well as its adoption of visual strategies derived from amateur and snapshot photography. Secondly, we explore the role of the photographic mise-en-scène of picture postcards in constructing an ideological as well as visual perspective on public monuments and the cityscape. The in situ photography of urban statues for picture postcards can be regarded as a photographic genre at the intersection of documentary art reproduction practices and amateur photography of the city. Moreover, the picture postcards discussed in this essay confirm and propagate dominant discourses on the monument and the cityscape, even if at the same time such visions were challenged. In the case of Brussels, the postcards demonstrate a preference for a monumental, impressive cityscape, worthy of representing the Belgian nation and capable of legitimising it through views of sculpture as a grand art, serving the worship of grands hommes. © 2013 Taylor and Francis.