Schip in de Zwanenburgwal met de Zuiderkerkstoren op de achtergrond 1904

This photograph of a boat on the Zwanenburgwal with the Zuiderkerk tower in the background was taken by James Higson, sometime between 1862 and 1933. The sepia tone gives the image a timeless quality, like a faded memory or a dream. I love how the texture of the water and the buildings create a blurry foreground and background. It’s as though the boat is a solid object set against the haziness, but it too is softened around the edges by the light and the artist's focus. Look how the mast rises almost ethereally against the buildings behind. Everything feels delicate and slightly out of reach. The Zuiderkerk church tower anchors the image but also adds to the dreamlike effect, its reflection shimmering in the canal. It reminds me of other artists like Atget, who chronicled the streets of Paris, capturing the same kind of quiet beauty in the everyday. Photography and painting – they're all just different ways of seeing, aren't they? And like all art, the beauty of this piece really depends on how you choose to interpret the image.