Nest met jongen van Koolmees c. 1870 - 1940

Adolphe Burdet captured this stereograph of a blue tit's nest and chicks with a camera, sometime in the late 19th or early 20th century. Look at the way the muted greys and browns form a cozy enclosure, a secret world revealed, full of the textures of nature. It's like the process of artmaking itself, isn't it? Building up layers, creating a space for something new to emerge. The moss is a scribbled, gestural landscape against the smooth, sculpted, man-made birdhouse, framing the soft, downy bodies of the chicks. Notice the tiny, dark eyes of the chicks, like little points of focus in a blurry world. You can almost hear their chirping, sense the warmth of their bodies huddled together. Burdet’s photograph reminds me of some of the intimate interior scenes of Vuillard. Both artists transform the everyday into something precious and profound. The photograph embraces the beauty of the ordinary, the power of art to reveal the hidden wonders all around us.