Gezelschap op het strand van Etretat Possibly 1902 - 1914

This photograph of a beach scene in Etretat, was captured by Delizy, though we don’t know exactly when. It's a beach, but also looks like a workshop. Boats sit casually next to elegant vacationers. The tonal range is narrow, so the details emerge slowly as you look. It looks like a painting by Corot or Courbet. The sepia tones add warmth, but also distance. The image is a window into a past that feels both familiar and remote. But its real skill is that Delizy has made a composition, just by standing here and pointing the camera. That's what good art does - invites us to see familiar scenes with new eyes, to find beauty in the everyday. Think of Bernd and Hilla Becher, who photographed industrial structures, and also found the sublime.