Bezoek aan de Sint-Bavokerk te Haarlem 1930

This is a set of three photographs of the Sint-Bavokerk in Haarlem, arranged within the pages of a photo album by Berti Hoppe. The grey scale emphasises the different ways we look at a physical space, capturing a sense of grandeur through the linear perspective of the architecture. Hoppe is playing with light and shadow here, creating different textures that shift between smooth stone and rough brickwork. In the photograph showing the height of the internal space, the pillars reach upward like ribs of a whale, casting shade that seems to breathe with a life of its own. The light pours through the windows, drawing you into the perspective. Each image is small, yet they combine to create a wider sense of architectural space. The album format reminds me of the way Gerhard Richter presented his 48 Portraits series, emphasising their status as reproductions. Hoppe captures something powerful in these images, suggesting that all artwork is about image making and the spaces we create in our minds.