Uitzicht vanaf de Propyleeën before 1910

This photograph, *Uitzicht vanaf de Propyleeën*, was taken by Frédéric Boissonnas sometime between the late 19th and early 20th century. Imagine Boissonnas setting up his camera, carefully framing the ancient Propylaea against the sprawling landscape of Greece. It must have been a challenge to capture the monumentality of the architecture. I wonder if Boissonnas saw himself as a kind of modern-day painter, using light and shadow instead of brushstrokes to depict the world. His choice of monochromatic tones gives the image a timeless quality, connecting it to the history of both photography and painting. It reminds me of some of the early landscape painters, like Caspar David Friedrich, who used scale and drama to convey the sublime power of nature. What do you think Boissonnas was hoping to capture? The grandeur of the ancient world? Or maybe something more personal. As artists, we're constantly in conversation with those who came before us, building on their ideas, pushing boundaries, and finding new ways to see.