Touques Valley 1906

Robert Demachy created "Touques Valley" with gum bichromate, a process where the artist has a lot of control. It's not just pointing and shooting; it's about layering and manipulating the image. The whole picture has this dreamy, soft-focus vibe, like memory itself. There's a clump of trees on the right – see how they’re not sharply defined but blurred into each other, with these hazy verticals suggesting trunks? It’s like he’s not just showing us the trees but the feeling of being there, the dampness, and the quiet. Look at the way the light filters, or doesn't filter, through the scene. It's all in these muted browns and greys, giving a sense of time standing still. It reminds me a bit of Corot, who also loved capturing these hazy, atmospheric landscapes. But Demachy adds a layer of abstraction, pushing photography towards something more personal and painterly. It's like he's saying, "Here’s a place, but it’s also a feeling, a mood, a moment that can never be exactly repeated."