Kapel van de kasteelruïne te Valkenburg 1890 - 1920

This photo, "Kapel van de kasteelruïne te Valkenburg," captures the crumbling chapel of a castle ruin with a muted palette, likely taken by someone at Monumentenzorg. It’s a study in textures and tones, where the act of seeing becomes a process of excavation. The surface is rich with visual information, a kind of archeological dig. The stone walls, worn smooth by time and weather, are interrupted by the sharp angles of broken bricks. Look at how the light catches on the crumbling edges, creating an almost tactile sense of depth. The plants clinging to the ruins add another layer, a living, breathing contrast to the dead stone. It reminds me of Cy Twombly's paintings, where marks accumulate like layers of history. While Twombly worked with paint, this photographer used light and shadow to achieve a similar effect, inviting us to see the past not as a fixed point, but as an ongoing process of decay and renewal.