Publication
Title
Photography and the spatial transformations of Ghent, 1840-1914
Author
Abstract
During the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, the photographic visualization of the Belgian city of Ghent is closely connected to its urban planning. On one hand, the city is transformed according to the logics of industrial modernization with its functional and spatial zoning. On the other hand, the citys historical heritage is rediscovered and many medieval buildings were preserved and restored. The planning history of Ghent is usually described in two stages: first, the Haussmannization of the city, the creation of boulevards and vistas according to the model of Brussels and Paris, and second, the return to regionalism and a picturesque sensibility during the preparation of the 1913 Worlds Fair. The photographic representation of the city seems to mirror this evolution, exchanging the image of the city as a series of isolated monuments for a more sensory and immersive experience. However, a close look at a broad range of images produced by both foreign and local photographers allows us to nuance this assumption. Particularly, the work of Edmond Sacré, who photographed Ghent over half a century, combines a topographical and a picturesque sensibility.
Language
English
Source (journal)
Journal of urban history. - Beverly Hills, Calif., 1974, currens
Publication
Beverly Hills, Calif. : 2018
ISSN
0096-1442 [print]
1552-6771 [online]
DOI
10.1177/0096144216629969
Volume/pages
44 :2 (2018) , p. 203-218
ISI
000424770500006
Full text (Publisher's DOI)
Full text (open access)
Full text (publisher's version - intranet only)
UAntwerpen
Faculty/Department
Research group
Project info
From sociobiology to urban metabolism: landscape design, ecology and engineering in Belgium (1900-2016).
Publication type
Subject
Art 
Affiliation
Publications with a UAntwerp address
External links
Web of Science
Record
Identifier
Creation 03.03.2016
Last edited 09.10.2023
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