Bouw van een bedrijfspand 1914 - 1919

This image shows the construction of a business premises, but the artist is unknown. The palette is restricted, and yet the various tonalities of the image draw the eye into the depths of the composition. There is a real sense of the material on display here, the wooden beams, the piles of what may be bricks, the ground itself – all laid out in a wide horizontal panorama. It’s as if the artist is saying to us, “Look at this thing, emerging from the ground.” The palm trees in the background seem to be almost watching over the scene. I find myself drawn to that large tree on the left. Its branches reaching towards the sky feel like a moment of improvisation in an otherwise structured scene. It reminds me of some of the works of Edward Hopper, where you often get these odd moments of freedom. Ultimately, the image seems to celebrate the process of building, inviting us to appreciate the beauty in both intention and accident.