Ten exhibition spaces filled with 400 photographs of ‘modern times’. The earliest photos are the motion studies of a galloping horse of Eadweard Muybridge from 1887 and early pictures of George Hendrik Breitner. Coloured scenes from Suriname taken in 2013 by Dutch photographer Viviane Sassen are the most recent photos. This exhibition titled Modern Times.Photography in the 20^th Century tried to present a broad survey of the Rijksmuseum’s photography collection and acquisition drift of the last ten years. Modern Times showed the major developments initiated by photography in the 20^th century: the rise of journalistic photography, the amateur as photographer, coloured photographs, fashion and advertising photography and photography as art. This large presentation formed the opening exhibition of the renewed Philipsvleugel, the then new exhibition wing of the museum.

Modern Times, what are modern times? Following the museum’s thinking this entails everything, whether it is an experiment, a street view, a certain photography style or an entire century.

Actually anything made since the existence of the medium. Themes as ‘aesthetics’ or ‘street life’ are an attempt to categorize this extensive overview of the museum’s collection. Naturally these themes themselves are rather broad and vague. Considering the notion of aesthetics, for example, could actually be anything. However the Rijksmuseum regards images of fashion or fashionable and beautiful ladies as aesthetics, an easy assumption. Most of the works on view are from the first part of the century and can never be seen as a correct representation of the entire 20^th century. Furthermore black and white images dominate the rooms, resulting in a somber but cold atmosphere.

With highlights as the photo of John Gutmann (see picture), László Moholy-Nagy (Pont Transbordeur), Man Ray’s Peggy Guggenheim, Lartigue’s early homebuilt airplanes and Joel Meyerowitz’ Moon Launch it is a missed opportunity to show off these gems in full extent. Unfortunately this exhibition is nothing more than a hodgepodge of early twentieth-century images with stray contemporary coloured photos here and there. A disappointing sight.

Modern Times. Photography in the 20^th Century was on show at the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam until January 11, 2015.