Cumnor Place (after Whittock) before 1912

This is Cumnor Place (after Whittock), made by Henry W. Taunt, although we don't know exactly when. It's kind of funny, it's like a copy, but then it becomes its own thing through the filter of Taunt's eye and hand. It's a black and white print, a landscape really, with a big old building smack in the middle. What’s so nice about it is how the dark and light play off each other, creating shapes and depth. Like, notice the way he uses these little dots and dashes to build up the texture of the foliage and stonework? It’s not just about showing what’s there, but about building it up, piece by piece. That kind of labor makes me think about another photographer, someone like Eugène Atget, who spent his life documenting the buildings of Paris. Both of them are doing more than just recording a place; they're giving us a way to feel it, to experience its weight and presence. Art's like that, always talking to itself, always changing the conversation.