Kolentrein in het bos achter The Art Building op de wereldtentoonstelling in St. Louis (Louisiana Purchase Exposition), 1904 1904

Jan Schüller made this photograph in 1904 of a coal train in the woods behind The Art Building at the World Exhibition in St. Louis. It’s interesting to imagine Schüller back then, surrounded by the buzz of the fair, but he’s looking instead at the coal train and this overgrown patch of woods. Maybe he felt a kinship with that train, quietly chugging away, doing its job away from the spotlight. I can almost feel the humidity, the weight of the air in that place, and the smell of damp earth mixing with the coal smoke. This image has a layered, textural feel, like a drawing. It feels deeply personal, like a quiet meditation on the relationship between nature and industry. It reminds me of other photographers of the time who were interested in documenting overlooked and marginalized aspects of modern life. It’s like they were all in conversation, each adding their own unique voice to a chorus of artistic expression.