Henry Peach Robinson (1830-1901) stitched this photograph together from six different prints to achieve this level of detail and dynamic range. The dark background isn’t simply dark – thanks to the enormours dynamic range we can actually explore it and discover countless little details (make sure to open it in ‘full size’). That’s what makes it much more interesting than a very clear and perfectly sharp photograph which reveals everything in just a glance. Moreover, the shallow depth of field blurs out some of these details and makes the photograph softer, adds a tint of magic and uncertainness – of life, maybe. You might also notice, though, that there is not just one field of sharpness as would be fit for a single photograph: the combination of six different negatives also led to several fields of sharpness.
When it is seen in full view (as opposed to full size, that is), however, the photograph is very well-composed around the lit centre. The single lightsource of the window reminds me of Rembrandt’s paintings. Peach Robinson supposedly was, however, inspired by John Mallord William Turner, who already fairly early drifted towards abstract painting with his misty(cal) land- and seascapes (at sunset), of which I included an example above: ‘Hurrah! for the Whaler Erebus! Another Fish!’ exhibited in 1846. The most obvious similarity I see is the central lighting of both works of art, which was typical for Turner. Furthermore, they share an air of mystery, a certain warmth.
The copy of the phorograph presented here is a cropped version of the one found on Wikimedia commons, Turner’s painting I found on 19th century brit paint.
emile wohlfarht 
