Kijkje op de tennisbaan 1921 - 1922

This is an undated photograph called 'Kijkje op de tennisbaan’ or ‘View of the tennis court’ by an anonymous maker. The image is a kind of study in contrasts and in tonality - soft greys, darker browns, and brilliant whites. The tennis court itself provides a formal structure to the picture. The lines are so precise, and the court itself so flat, compared to the organic shapes of the trees behind, or the casually arranged figures watching the game. If you look closely at the figure standing on the court to the left, he seems about to swing, but then again, he might not be – it’s hard to tell! This kind of ambiguity reminds me of work by artists like Gerhard Richter, who revels in the unfinished and uncertain. Photography, like painting, is about capturing a moment in time. It is never quite fixed, and always open to new interpretations.