Gezicht op roei- en zeilboten op een water bij een stad of dorp c. 1920 - 1940

This is an old photograph of sailboats and rowboats on the water near a town or village, by G. Hidderley. I wonder what life was like then? Look at how the buildings and boats are reflected in the water, distorted and abstracted by the ripples. Did the photographer want to evoke a sense of nostalgia? I feel like the artist is trying to say something about the passage of time and the fleeting nature of beauty. I bet the photographer may have had a dark room and did all their own printing, and so would have control over the image. This photograph reminds me of other images of waterways I've seen in my life. It's like artists are always having a conversation with each other across time, building on each other's ideas and inspiring new ones. It’s all so mysterious and ambiguous; maybe it's not about knowing, but about feeling and sensing.