Façade van Wagenstraat 39 te Den Haag 1909

This photo, Façade van Wagenstraat 39 te Den Haag, was taken in May 1909 by an anonymous photographer working with Monumentenzorg. What strikes me first is how the windows stare back at you, vacant and dark. The whole image has a tactile quality, like something you could reach out and touch; I want to know if the surface is smooth or rough. The photograph almost feels like a painting, with the subtle gradations of light and shadow creating a sense of depth and texture, even a bit of abstraction. Look how the light catches the upper window frames and brickwork, like a kind of chiaroscuro. The damage to the glass in the top left window is a focal point. I wonder how it was broken. This photograph reminds me of Berenice Abbott’s documentation of New York architecture in the 1930s, both capturing a specific moment in time, but also hinting at larger stories about urban life and decay. It reminds us that art embraces uncertainty.