Militairen bij een voorpost op 1100 meter hoogte in de Dolomieten, vermoedelijk Italianen 1916

Henri de Rothschild made this photograph, 'Militairen bij een voorpost op 1100 meter hoogte in de Dolomieten, vermoedelijk Italianen,' and it's an atmospheric record of a moment in time. Imagine standing there, among the soldiers, at that outpost high in the Dolomites. The sepia tones evoke a sense of history and distance. The mountains loom large, and the soldiers seem small against this backdrop. What were they thinking as they stood there? Were they scared? Bored? Homesick? I find myself thinking about the relationship between art and war. So many artists have been inspired, or perhaps haunted, by the experience of conflict. Photography, like painting, can be a way of bearing witness, of trying to make sense of something senseless. This image captures the quiet before the storm. There’s a stillness in the scene, a sense of anticipation.