Jan en Go Kessler bij een grenspaal tussen Saksen en Bohemen c. 1910

This is a photograph by Hermann Johannes (Boelie) Kessler, it shows Jan en Go Kessler at a border post between Saxony and Bohemia. It has a soft, almost dreamy quality, as if the image is emerging slowly, like a memory. The grey scale tones add to this, and the way the figures are positioned within the landscape, slightly off-center, creates a sense of balance and harmony. There is an intriguing sense of depth to the image, created by the way the trees recede into the distance. The border stone itself becomes like a third figure in the composition, anchoring the scene. The way the light catches the stone, highlighting the inscription, draws us in, almost like an invitation to cross a threshold. Kessler’s work reminds me of Eugène Atget, another chronicler of place and time. Both artists capture a sense of fleeting beauty, inviting us to reflect on the transient nature of life and the stories embedded in the world around us. Art is an ongoing conversation, full of mystery and open to endless interpretation.